Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the 40th Annual Black History Month virtual celebration on February 27, 2021 at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Manuel Balce Ceneta / AP Hide caption
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Manuel Balce Ceneta / AP
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the 40th Annual Black History Month virtual celebration on February 27, 2021 at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
Manuel Balce Ceneta / AP
One day after the advance of the House of President Bidens $ 1.9 trillion COVID-19 Vice President Kamala Harris endorsed the proposed aid round as much-needed aid to black Americans, calling the pandemic an “accelerator” for “the rifts and failures, the flaws, the flaws in our system”.
Harris shared her remarks at a Black History Month Virtual Celebration, The host is the majority leader of the house, Steny Hoyer, D-Md. In her keynote address, the Vice President quoted how the pandemic had made the situation worse for “those for whom things were previously bad”, especially black Americans, whom Harris found disproportionately affected by the rigors of the pandemic are. from health and death to economic struggles.
“We see a country in a situation where more than two in three black Americans personally know someone who has been hospitalized or has died of COVID-19. Black workers are being pushed out of the workforce in record numbers, and so on. Many black workers Small businesses are being forced to close their doors, “Harris said.
Harris drew a passage from those whom she referred to as “innovators” in the civil rights battle, “who had clear eyes on the moment they lived”, to take action against the pandemic.
“I believe we can handle this moment and I believe that this month of black history, this year and this moment, we need to be clear about the challenges that lie ahead,” said Harris.
The remarks on the 40th annual repetition of the event came less than 24 hours after the House approved its version of the aid package with provisions Strengthening the country’s vaccination campaign, boosting the economy, and supporting everything from checks to rent support for individual Americans. The bill now going to the Senate also includes provisions for people living in poverty and support for families with children.
Harris endorsed the small business legislation and its provisions and funded vaccination efforts, as well as a tax credit of $ 3,000 per child – with $ 3,600 for children under 6 – included in the house bill.
“In this way we will lift half of the children living in poverty out of poverty. And a disproportionate number of children in America living in poverty are black children,” Harris said.
The vice president also highlighted how black Americans had helped combat the public health crisis. She mentioned healthcare and key workers who were on the front lines during the pandemic – like Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett who contributed to the development of the Moderna vaccine, and Sandra Lindsay, the first nurse to receive the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine in the United States.
Harris also brought up her Thursday visit with the Washington, DC health director Dr. LaQuandra Nesbitt to a pharmacy in a predominantly black neighborhood in the country’s capital. In her remarks on Saturday, Harris noted that access to COVID-19 is a common problem among black and brown Americans.
“We know how people have historically been treated in relation to medicine and research. So we know we need to acknowledge this problem,” Harris said. “We have to keep educating people about what is happening now, what is different.”
