We are publishing the full responses below because African Americans make up a significant bloc of the Democratic electorate. Candidates are trying to attract black support. David Baria (state representative and attorney) “First and foremost, African Americans continue to struggle due to failed policy and years-long systemic racism that prevent them from getting the jobs and income they deserve. This leads to poverty in the generations that follow, which is very hard to overcome. There are not the same resources available in underserved communities of both color and black as there are in other parts of the state, such as the Gulf Coast, Madison County, or DeSoto County. We have to allocate resources to areas in our state that are difficult to attract people and businesses because they lack the necessary facilities. It doesn’t matter if it’s a hospital, school, or good roads. These are the things we have to fix.”
“I believe it will be easier to address them in Washington, because you have more flexibility with the federal dollars that you can send home. Remember that our Mississippi education system couldn’t exist without federal dollars. Federal dollars couldn’t save our transportation system. Federal dollars wouldn’t have allowed our healthcare system to survive.”
“The second thing people need to know is that when I travel to Washington, my staff, office and team will reflect the Mississippi state. I will elevate the deserving, regardless of race or creed. But I will also make sure that my staff is representative of the state I serve. I will also change the conversation on race. As you know, I am biracial. It’s not something I live with, but it is something that I have learned about the experiences of people of color in this country and this state. This is what people need to know about me and I intend to change the conversation around race.” Howard Sherman, businessman
It’s the basics. They care about jobs. It’s interesting because they care about jobs. He replied, “That’s great but these are long-term solutions. These are not quick fixes. Our unemployment rate in (country) is twice that of the (country). I replied, “I have an idea. Give me a few weeks.”
“So I returned and I used my network of people I know to find a corn chip business on the west coast. Because we grow such incredible stuff, I thought we should rebrand the Delta. So I called the CEO at the corn chip company. He said that he needed me to open a Delta factory on the edge a corn field. I added, “Because we’re fighting in the marketplace to differentiate ourselves – make the consumers see you as different from Frito-Lays and Doritos.” I suggested that a message say, “Freshest Chip on the Market.” Within 48 hours you can go from field to bag. The factory is literally at the edge of the corn field. He replied, “Oh my, my marketing people pay me, but in one phone call it’s 1000 jobs.”
“So that’s it. We must bring jobs to the African American regions. Of course, they want vocational training. It is possible to fund core programs if you match it with a company that is coming in. We will use some core funding. A bank I have will also fund vocational training if they can get a commitment form the local municipalities, who will now be subject to higher taxes in order to repay the loan. They will loan $100,000 to train African Americans or other workers, and then the company will move the factory there. It creates jobs, which creates a tax base, and the local municipality receives incremental money that they wouldn’t get anyway to repay the bank. If you have jobs, you also have a tax base.”
