Terry McAuliffe hypes ‘Lifting Black Virginians’ agenda

Democratic Party gubernatorial nomination candidate Terry McAuliffe today released his Lifting Black Virginians agenda.

As you can guess, the press release detailing the agenda labels it “bold.”

We’re only going to mockingly use the word “bold” in reference to these items from the McAuliffe campaign from here on, because they use the word with everything they do.

The basics of this particular “bold” plan:

• Build Black wealth by increasing the minimum wage and eliminating racial pay gaps, promoting homeownership, investing in Black businesses, and promoting ownership in the new cannabis industry.
• Advance civil rights by enshrining the automatic restoration of voting rights in our constitution and creating more opportunities for Black communities to vote.
• Rebuild trust between communities and public safety agencies by increasing accountability for and transparency of serious misconduct.
• Protect Black LGBTQ+ Virginians by improving identification, reporting and enforcement of hate crimes.
• Address racial health disparities by lowering premiums, promoting health literacy, diversifying the health care workforce, and combating maternal mortality.

Meh.

Honestly, this all seems recycled from previous “bold” plans. Just quibbling, but McAuliffe has already pledged to work to increase the minimum wage, make the restoration of voting rights for those who have served time for felony convictions automatic, and the healthcare stuff is definitely recycled.

Not to say it’s not good stuff.

Just not all that specific to Black Virginia.

Anyway, being fair, some words from McAuliffe on this.

“When we have inequities in our schools, in health care, in housing, that’s racism, and we’ve got to fix it,” McAuliffe said. “That means ensuring children of color have access to a world-class education, making health care more affordable and accessible, and tackling the systemic discrimination that has prevented Black families from accessing homeownership and generating wealth for generations.

“I will use my power as Virginia’s next governor to remedy the wrongs of the past and build a more equitable future for all Virginians,” McAuliffe said.

Story by Chris Graham