Biden pledged to continue seeking “meaningful change” for African Americans in the United States

Written by Andrea Shalal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday highlighted his determination to address concerns about a number of issues facing African Americans, including policing and massive economic disparities, saying all of your government agencies are focusing on those challenges.

Biden spoke before a meeting with members of the Black Caucus in Congress, in which he addressed what he described as the “terrible” shooting of a 20-year-old black man in Minnesota by a police officer, a few miles from where he took Derek Chauvin’s trial, Former white Minneapolis police officer accused of murdering George Floyd.

“We’re on the subject. We are all meeting today to bring about real change,” Biden said, adding that every part of his administration focuses on improving equity.

“We have a lot of things that we have to deal with … in terms of the police, when it comes to huge disparities in economic opportunity,” the Democratic president said before the meeting.

Biden said black lawmakers had already helped make major changes by helping to pass his $ 1.9 trillion coronavirus rescue plan and assured that the $ 2.3 trillion jobs and infrastructure plan would ensure more significant “change” in improving economic opportunities for African Americans.

Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, who chairs the Black Caucus in Congress, told reporters there was a fruitful meeting with Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris that focused on the need to protect voting rights, police reforms, eliminate systemic racism, and consider slavery compensation.

Betty said the group had asked Biden to appoint a black woman to the Supreme Court if a seat became vacant, as well as to support tax breaks for grocery stores to move into disadvantaged communities.

(Prepared by Andrea Shalal. Edited in Spanish by Rodrigo Charme)