On Sunday, Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg pledged to narrow the wealth gap between African Americans and their fellow citizens by promoting black ownership of businesses houses, and investment in slums.
Bloomberg, 77, whose entry to the Democratic nomination contest was delayed, is growing in public opinion polls as he uses his massive personal fortune to spend heavily on nationwide advertising.
The former New York mayor stands behind Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren at the national level and among African Americans, who make up about a quarter of Democratic voters in the contest against Republican President Donald Trump in the November elections.
Bloomberg said, during an Oklahoma speech, and in honor of the civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.,that he plans to help around one million Afro-Americans become homeowners over a 10-year period. He also vowed to provide a $70 billion program to fight poverty in 100 deprived US neighborhoods.
“You don’t reverse hundreds of years of theft and exploitation only with modern-day attempts to legislate equal rights,” he added.
The Bloomberg Campaign said that it would help Afro-Americans with paying mortgage, pledging to combat discrimination through anti-bias training for police, teachers and federal contractors.
However, Bloomberg has faced criticism in black communities after he supported, as a NY mayor, the controversial police policies against Africans and Hispanics. The former Republican apologized for the days of politics before announcing his candidacy.
The US billionaire will not campaign in the first four states and hopes to replace competitions on the “Super Tuesday” contests that include racially perse Texas, California and North Carolina.
An Ipsos poll conducted in mid January showed that 9% of Democrats and independents supported Bloomberg in the nomination contest, up from 5% in early December, trailing Sanders, who advanced by 20%, Biden who received 19% and Warren at 12%.
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SENATOR ELIZABETH WARREN[/caption]
Biden has the most African American support with 23%, according to polling in the month through mid-January, compared to 17% for Sanders, 9% for Warren and 7% for Bloomberg.
According to polling, Biden has the most African American support with 23%, compared to 17% for Sanders, 9% for Warren and 7% for Bloomberg.
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JOE BIDEN[/caption]
The United States stands out among developed countries for its large wealth gaps and its relatively recent history of pervasive slavery, which underpinned its southern economy until 1865.
In the developed world, the US stands out among the biggest countries with wealth gaps and its relatively recent history of rampant slavery, which was the basis of its southern economy until 1865.
Despite legal efforts to prohibit discrimination, according to data released by the Federal Reserve, white Americans have more than six times the wealth of black families in 2016, which has been a fairly stable gap since 1962.
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SENATOR BERNIE SANDERS[/caption]
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