Today, the Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), Congressman Cedric Richmond (D-La.), and members of his executive committee, as well as Assistant Democratic Leader Clyburn, met with President Trump and his advisers to talk about issues affecting the African-American community and why the Administration should follow the CBC’s lead if it’s serious about addressing these issues.
In addition to talking about proposed budget cuts, HBCUs, jobs, and other issues, Chairman Richmond hand delivered letters to President Trump from some senior leaders in the CBC (Letter from Ranking Member Conyers to Attorney General Sessions, Letter from Ranking Member Scott to Secretary DeVos), as well as a CBC-authored, 130-page policy document titled “We Have A Lot To Lose: Solutions to Advance Black Families in the 21st Century” about African-American history, CBC history, and 21st century policy solutions for African-American families.
The policy document was delivered to the White House before the meeting. The title of the policy document is CBC’s answer to a question President Trump posed repeatedly to African Americans while he was on the campaign trail.
During the meeting, the CBC Chairman called on President Trump to implement the short- and long-term solutions in the policy document, and mentioned that the comments about President Obama and inner city neighborhoods were offensive to African Americans. In addition, the CBC Chairman informed President Trump that the caucus needs to hear from key members of his cabinet (Attorney General Sessions as well as Secretaries Carson, DeVos and Price).
President Trump was joined by Vice President Mike Pence and his senior advisor, Omarosa Manigault. The tone of the meeting was serious.
“The answer to the question he posed during his campaign is this: we have a lot to lose. In fact, we’re beginning to lose a lot already under his Administration; the Republican repeal and replace bill, the proposed budget cuts, and the actions Attorney General Sessions is taking at DOJ are just a few of the many examples of that.”
Congressman Richmond added, “African Americans are offended by the divisive and destructive rhetoric we’ve seen from President Trump and his Administration and the policies and programs they’re promoting that hurt our communities. If this Administration is serious about creating a ‘New Deal for Black America,’ it has to support and strengthen programs that provide a pathway out of poverty, as well as programs that help Americans achieve the American Dream. Today, the CBC presented President Trump with ‘first 100 days’ and longer-term policy solutions for the African-American community and now the ball is in his court to implement them.”
