Press Releases

Today, the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) released a 3:26 mini documentary explaining what African Americans have lost under the Trump Administration and why it’s important for them to vote in November. From safety and security to healthcare, equality and justice and other issue areas, the mini documentary details how a number of policies and programs implemented by President Trump and his Administration have hurt African Americans and other marginalized communities.  

We Have Lost A Lot Video

“President Trump has been in office for almost two years and during that time African Americans and other marginalized communities have lost a lot. There is no question that our community – and the country – are worse off now than they were before President Trump took office," said CBC Chairman Cedric L. Richmond (D-LA-02). "If we don’t want to lose more than we’ve lost already, we must vote in the next election and future elections. Our grandparents and great-grandparents fought and died for the right to vote and we should make sure we exercise that right no matter how low or high the stakes are. The stakes couldn’t be higher right now.”  

On the campaign trail in 2016, then-presidential candidate Donald Trump asked African Americans “What the hell do you have to lose” in reference to voting for him. During the CBC’s first and only meeting with President Trump in March of 2017, the Caucus responded to this question with a 130-page policy document entitled “We Have A Lot To Lose: Solutions to Advance Black Families in the 21^st Century.”

The document was hand-delivered to President Trump during the meeting, but President Trump and his Administration never responded to the problems and solutions detailed in it. They also didn’t facilitate meetings between the CBC and Cabinet officials at the Department of Justice, Department of Education, and Department of Housing and Urban Development even though they said they would. As a result, the CBC declined a second meeting with President Trump on June 22, 2017.