On Tuesday, February 18, 2020, The Mayor of Columbia, S.C., and Campaign Co-Chair of presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg, Steve Benjamin, made a stop at the Black United Fund of Illinois Entrepreneur Center located at 1750 East 71st Street. Mayor Benjamin, along with U.S. 1st District Rep. Bobby Rush had a round table discussion with various members of Chicago’s black media.
Steve Benjamin, the three-term mayor and one of the first African Americans in elected to the office, put his support behind former Mayor Mike Bloomberg. Major Benjamin wanted a chance for the African American community to hear directly from the Bloomberg campaign.
During Mayor Benjamin’s visit to the South Shore community, he discussed candidate Bloomberg’s “Mike for Black America” and the Greenwood Initiative. “Mike for Black America” is a national movement to engage black voters across the country on the issues they care about most. Without the support of the Black Community, a Democratic candidate will face difficulties becoming elected. Bloomberg is currently having problems connecting with the black community because of past policies he championed like stop-and-frisk.
Released in January, the Greenwood Initiative: Economic Justice to Black Americans reflects Bloomberg’s commitment to addressing systemic discrimination and promoting economic justice for Black America. This initiative, speaks to Bloomberg’s plan to create 1 million new Black homeowners and 100,000 new Black-owned businesses over the next decade. His plan also includes a $70 billion investment in America’s 100 most disadvantaged neighborhoods.
The campaign co-chair said that as a private citizen, Bloomberg is committed to the environment and gun safety. When asked about the Democratic National Committee rule change that is now allowing Bloomberg to appear on the Las Vegas debate stage, Mayor Benjamin said candidate Mike Bloomberg nor the campaign had anything to do with the DNC rule change. However, Bloomberg is ready to bring this message to a broader audience on the debate stage.
The Illinois primary for both parties takes place on Tuesday, March 17, 2020.
Note: Last Week, Democratic Presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg delivered the largest single advertising buy to the Black Press in the 80-year history of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA). The NNPA is the national trade association that represents 230 black-owned newspapers and media companies throughout the nation. They received a $3.5 million ad buy on Monday, February 10. The following article is not part of a paid advertisement by the Mike Bloomberg campaign.
LaToya Wright, Contributing Writer
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