With the spirit of Tyre Nichols permeating throughout the hallowed halls of Congress, President Joe Biden address several issues relevant to the Black community, including calls for police reforms, near-record low unemployment and honoring the first Black woman Supreme Court justice.
Overall, Biden covered five major themes that are relevant to African Americans during his State of the Union address on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023.
Police reforms and repairing trust in law enforcement after Tyre Nichols’ tragic passing in Memphis
Biden acknowledges to Americans — and particularly to Black folks — that he’s never had “to have that talk” with his children on how to comport themselves during tense police encounters — the way Black people are almost required to do like a rite of passage.
“As many of you personally know, there are no words to describe the heartache of losing a child, but imagine, imagine if you lost that child at the hands of the law,” Biden said during SOTU, according to CBS News.
Biden invited the parents of Tyre Nichols, the 29-year-old father and FedEx worker who was pummeled to death by multiple Memphis police officers.
“Here is what Tyre’s mother shared with me when I asked her how she finds the courage to carry on and speak out: She said her son was a beautiful soul, and something good will come of this. Imagine how much courage that takes. It’s up to us, to all of us,” Biden continued.
“But what happened to Tyre in Memphis happens too often,” Biden added. “We have to do better. Give law enforcement the real training they need. Hold them to higher standards. Help them succeed in keeping us safe.”
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson of the U.S. Supreme Court
Biden officially welcomed Justice Kentanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman elected to the U.S. Supreme Court, the nation’s highest legal body.
Despite the furious attempt by Republicans to derail her nomination, Brown Jackson emerged seemingly unscathed despite the arduous and contentious process. She also received rousing bipartisan applause when Biden acknowledged the esteemed jurist.
Biden acknowledges historic appointment of U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries
President Biden heaped effusive praise upon U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., who became the first Black minority leader in the U.S. House of Representatives. Jeffries, visibly humbled by the acknowledgment, silently gestured his appreciation.
Biden boasts near-record low of Black unemployment
The president told members of Congress that Black unemployment is at a near-record low of 5.4 percent, with the record being 5.3 percent, good for the best data since 1969 during the Nixon administration.
The president vows rededication to America’s infrastructure
Biden said a bipartisan infrastructure deal that amounts to $1.6 billion in federal grants to repair the 60-year-old Brent Spence Bridge in southern Ohio and more funding to do the same with a multitude of other roads and bridges across the country.
The 46th president introduced construction worker Saria Gwin-Maye, a Black woman and longtime member of Ironworkers Local 44 union in Cincinnati, for her meritorious service.
“For 30 years, she (Gwin-Maye) tells me she’s been a proud member of Ironworkers Local 44, known as the ‘cowboys of the sky’ who built the Cincinnati skyline,” Biden said, according to The Cincinnati Enquirer. “Saria said she can’t wait to be ten stories above the Ohio River building that new bridge. God bless her. That’s pride.”
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law signed by @POTUS will create good-paying union jobs for workers like Saria Gwin-Maye of @TheIronworkers, who will work to rebuild the Brent Spence Bridge in Ohio. pic.twitter.com/tTBipOITxb
— Building Back Together (@BuildingBack_US) February 8, 2023
