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On Thursday (March 7), President Joe Biden will deliver his final State of the Union Address before the impending presidential election. In this crucial speech, Biden will address a joint session of Congress at the United States Capitol.
Black Americans, who contributed heavily to Biden's victory over Donald Trump in 2020, wait with bated breath on how he will address his previous campaign promises. According to ABC News, Biden has lost a lot of support from Black voters throughout his presidency. Polls show Black support dropped from 86% at the start of Biden's term to a staggering 60% in early 2023. Despite the massive drop-off, Black voters overall appear to prefer Biden over Trump, who's trying to rally Black Americans to his side ahead of the November election.
Since his induction in 2021, Biden has had standout moments like nominating Ketanji Jackson Brown, the nation's Black female justice, to the Supreme Court, improving the Affordable Care Act, and reducing the number of uninsured Black Americans, according to Politifact. The Whtie House also published a lengthy fact sheet on how the Biden-Harris administration "advanced equity" in the Black community. Some key notes include helping Black families by expanding the Child Tax Credit, helping Black homeowners through various policies, and narrowing the racial wealth gap.
Politifact also noted that he's fallen short and even broken some key promises, such as not implementing a national commission to address policing issues, especially in the wake of Tyre Nichols' death, updating the Voting Rights Act to protect minority voters, supporting the study of reparations, and expanding services for incarcerated people. Experts previously warned that if the current administration didn't uphold campaign pledges, Black voters may be turned off from showing up for him on Election Day.
Terrance Woodbury, CEO of polling firm HIT Strategies, told ABC News that young Black voters are especially cynical of career politicians.
"When I sit in focus groups with young Black voters and ask what [Democrats have] done to make their lives better, they're hard pressed to come up with an answer, despite this administration delivering on much of the Black agenda," Woodbury said in November 2023. "That's the communication challenge that we have a year to overcome."
Biden is preparing for another showdown with Trump in November as the former president sweeps the Republican primaries and caucuses. The embattled mogul, who's facing a slew of lawsuits and investigations, dominated on Super Tuesday (March 5), forcing former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley to suspend her presidential campaign.
The Black Information Network (BIN) is airing President Biden’s State of the Union address and the Republican response across all 24/7 BIN News affiliates. Coverage begins at 8:30 p.m. Eastern with a special pre-show discussion hosted by Andrea Coleman, VP of News for the Black Information Network, and Dr. Andra Gillespie, Associate Professor of Political Science at Emory College.
BIN Managing Editor Mike Stevens, Andrea Coleman, and Dr. Andra Gillespie will anchor live coverage of the President’s address at 9 p.m. Eastern with additional analysis provided by Alexandria Ikomoni and Tyrik Wynn from the BIN News team.
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