by Hazel Trice Edney
(TriceEdneyWire.com)—Despite what Donald Trump claims, by almost every metric Black Americans are better off today than they were under his term in the White House. From advances in racial justice and equity to lower unemployment rates and higher wages, the Biden-Harris administration has been a champion for Black America on all fronts.
Compare the work of the current administration to that of the previous one and the contrast is stark. For example, Trump would not condemn the White supremacists who descended on Charlottesville, Va., the city in which I was born. Instead, he infamously said that there were “very fine people on both sides.” He had the police tear gas peaceful protestors in Lafayette Park across from the White House so he could have his photo taken holding a Bible. His policies helped cut off the voting rights of millions of Americans, which included a disproportionate number of people of color.
And this is not even mentioning the economic and public health catastrophes he oversaw during the COVID-19 pandemic that disproportionately affected Black and brown Americans.
While the ascension of Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee has injected new life into this year’s presidential campaign and narrowed the polling gap with Trump, the race is still extremely close. There remains a good chance that Donald Trump could return to the White House next January. This is something Black America cannot afford; including the 12 percent Black population in Pennsylvania.
The depravity and losses that marked the four years of Trump’s presidency stand in stark contrast with the gains made during the Biden-Harris administration—gains that a Harris-Walz administration will build on.
Over the last four years, the country has seen the lowest Black unemployment rate on record and the lowest gap between Black and White unemployment on record. Black wealth is also up by 60 percent relative to pre-pandemic levels—the largest increase on record.
The Biden-Harris administration has made major advancements in civil rights, recognized the significant achievements and contributions of Black Americans, and elevated Black Americans to numerous crucial positions—from Harris as the vice president to Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court, and more Black women appointed to federal circuit courts than every previous president combined.
And while Trump weaponized law enforcement against Black Americans and racial justice protestors, Biden and Harris made massive gains toward ensuring that issues like police brutality and racial profiling were being relegated to the history books. For example, the administration signed an executive order banning the use of chokeholds, restricting no-knock warrants, mandating the use of body-worn cameras, and requiring officer misconduct records to be logged into a new national accountability database among other changes.
Biden and Harris also made big strides to curb the epidemic levels of gun violence that disproportionately affect Black Americans. Besides creating the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, the administration signed into law the bipartisan Safer Communities Act that, among other things, expanded background checks for potential firearm buyers and gave law enforcement more tools for cracking down on gun trafficking.
All of these steps helped to reduce the homicide rate across the country by almost 20 percent in the first few months of 2024.
Black voters now have a choice between a candidate who has already vowed to undo many of these gains and one who would not only ensure they are protected but will expand policies important to the community, from preserving a woman’s right to choose to ending mandatory minimum sentences, cash bail, and the death penalty—all of which disproportionately affect people of color.
Just as the difference between Trump’s term in office and Biden’s tenure presents starkly different Americas, so too do the visions set out by Harris and Trump. One wants to take Black America back in time. Another wants to continue the progress made over the last four years. The choice for Black Americans could not be clearer.
About Post Author
