00:00I'm Tanya Christian, News and Politics Editor at Essence Magazine.
00:04Recently, I, along with News and Politics Director Aisha Callahan,
00:07sat down with a number of the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates.
00:12Pete Buttigieg is the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, as well as a military veteran.
00:17If Mayor Pete wins, he will be the youngest U.S. president,
00:20as well as the first U.S. president who is openly gay.
00:24What message do you want to send to black women voters?
00:26The biggest thing that I think is important for black women voters to hear right now
00:31is how powerful you are.
00:33Election outcomes have changed, and they've changed for the better
00:36because black women have stood up and demanded answers
00:39on not just issues like racial inequality in the workplace
00:43or gender inequality in health care or vice versa,
00:46but also the expectation for economic empowerment to be felt by all.
00:51It's an issue that I care about deeply because I'm the mayor of a diverse community
00:55where, on one hand, we've seen a lot of growth compared to where we were,
00:59and on the other hand, that growth has been very unequal
01:01in housing, in employment, in wealth building.
01:04We've got to fix this. We've got to fix this quickly,
01:06or it's going to tear up the whole American project.
01:09And I believe that with the right kind of policies,
01:11but also a national movement that doesn't expect one elected official to fix it
01:16but holds our entire government accountable for doing the right thing,
01:19that we really can't achieve equality in my time,
01:23where your life expectancy, your income, your household wealth,
01:27your experience with the criminal justice system is the exact same.
01:30I want to see this in my lifetime, and I believe that we can do it.
01:33We can only do it if black women step up
01:35and their voices are heard at the ballot box.
01:38What would you say are the three most important issues
01:41going into the 2020 elections?
01:43Well, it's hard to pick just three,
01:44but I'll mention three big ones that are on my mind.
01:46One is democracy and access to democracy.
01:49It is still far too common for people to be excluded from voting
01:53or find it harder to vote,
01:55often for reasons with racial or partisan motivation.
01:59We've got to fix that.
02:00We've got to fix the way our districts are drawn.
02:02We've got to fix money and politics.
02:04And the reason it matters so much
02:05is that every other issue that we care about,
02:07from economics to gun violence to climate to immigration,
02:11is at stake in our getting this right.
02:13I also think we've got to act on climate.
02:15We're in New Orleans right now,
02:16just one of many places in America that are,
02:19I believe, suffering because of the consequences of climate change.
02:22And those consequences are disproportionately felt
02:24by communities of color.
02:26And the third thing that I think is hugely important
02:28is economic empowerment.
02:30We've got to raise wages in this country.
02:32We've got to beat back inequality.
02:34We've got to make sure that people can live well in this country,
02:36that it's affordable to go to college,
02:38but also that you can do well whether you went to college or not.
02:41We've got to fix these things and we've got to act fast.
02:43How do your plans directly affect communities of color?
02:47So we've put forward a Douglas plan,
02:49kind of like the Marshall Plan that rebuilt Europe after World War II.
02:53But this time, we've got to invest in black America,
02:55right here at home and right now.
02:57It works across several different areas.
02:59One of them is homeownership.
03:01We believe that a federal fund can help families and homeowners,
03:05especially in areas that have been victims of redlining and exclusion,
03:09acquire homes, improve them,
03:11and then build wealth through that.
03:13I believe we should set up a Walker Lewis fund.
03:16That's what we're calling it after two amazing entrepreneurs in black history
03:19that would co-invest in minority entrepreneurship
03:22because we know that one of the best sources of opportunity
03:25for communities of color is businesses owned by communities of color.
03:30And I think we should expand the federal government's commitment
03:32to do its own business with businesses that have diverse ownership.
03:36Those are just a few elements of it, but you'll be able to see more online
03:39as we talk about how the Douglas plan would impact everything
03:41from entrepreneurship and homeownership to health and criminal justice in our country.
03:46Very nice.
03:47So looking ahead, if you win this election and you are president,
03:52what policies would you implement within the first 90 days?
03:57Well, right away we've got to get to work on the way people are being excluded from democracy
04:01because we've got to get ready for the next election.
04:03And I'm not saying that from a democratic perspective.
04:05I'm saying that from an American perspective.
04:07But we know that communities of color are excluded.
04:09We can work on that right away.
04:11We can act on climate right away.
04:12Right away I would be working on wage growth, raising the minimum wage,
04:17and making sure that we have benefits set up in a way that actually works for the 21st century.
04:21Because right now it's still designed around the 20th century
04:24when you knew you would have one job with one employer for your whole career.
04:28And for anybody my age and younger, it's unlikely that it's going to work that way.
04:31So we've got to change the way those economic structures work.
04:35That's got to be done right away.
04:36And there's a lot of work abroad.
04:38We've got to restore America's credibility before it's too late.
04:40Our safety here at home depends on it.
04:42Great.
04:43Well, thank you so much for your time.
04:45Appreciate it.
04:46Thanks for having us.
04:47Thanks to all the candidates for taking the time to speak with us.
04:51Stay tuned to Essence's platforms for our next exclusive interview.
04:54I'm Tanya Christian, and thank you for watching.
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