April 12 (UPI) — President Joe Biden on Friday touted the promises his administration has kept for Black Americans, but warned of “extreme voices” that want to “turn back the clock” on racial equality.
Biden in his remarks to the National Action Network Convention, highlighted achievements under his administration, such as awarding $76 billion in federal contracts to small, disadvantaged businesses and investing $7 billion in historically Black colleges and universities.
He also touted “transformational changes” such as record-low Black unemployment and a 60% increase in Black wealth, while noting “there is much more work to do.”
“There are more extreme voices out there who simply don’t want to see people of color in the future of our country,” Biden said.
“They want to turn back the clock — voter suppression, election subversion, ripping away reproductive freedom, gutting affirmative action … and attacking diversity across American life, banning books — this is 2024 — banning books, attempting to erase history, embracing political violence, like what happened on January the 6th.”
The Rev. Al Sharpton introduced Biden at Friday’s National Action Network Convention as the incumbent president seeks to build support among Black voters ahead of November’s general election.
Biden in his closing remarks said, “Our democracy is at stake,” but he sees a future “where we defend democracy, we don’t diminish it.”
“I see an America where, with your help, I sign the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act into law, where I sign the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act into law, where we make Roe v. Wade the law of the land again,” he said.