On the heels of the 2020 Democratic primary elections, presidential candidate, Pete Buttigieg, took his campaign to Berkeley County, South Carolina where he sat down with “The Breakfast Club’s” Charlamagne Tha God to discuss plans to boost the economic landscape for the Black demographic.

“I’m thinking about entrepreneurship and what the American people, through the federal government, should be doing to support black entrepreneurs,” Buttigieg said, according to Live5News.

The former Mayor of South Bend, Indiana has been been vocal about his Douglass Plan and approach to empower Black entrepreneurs. According to Buttigieg’s official campaign site, The Douglass Plan is a comprehensive plan comprised of a set of individual initiatives that will empower Black America in different aspects.

The Walker-Lewis Initiative, named after Madam CJ Walker and Reginald Lewis, aims to strengthen access to credit, inject capital into the Black community and triple the number of underrepresented business owners within ten years. The Walker-Lewis Initiative is built on the following four point foundation:

  1. A governmental co-investment of $10 billion within five years to help fund entrepreneurs from underrepresented backgrounds, low-income and minority communities.
  2. Deferring and forgiving student loans over a five year period for students who qualify for the Pell Grant and maintain a business that employs 3-5 people within five years of graduation.
  3. Award 25 percent of government contracting funds to small business owners from underserved communities.
  4. Development of the Walker-Lewis Task Force which will seek out new ways to to ensure the success of the Initiative and report back to the President within 100 days of taking office.

According to Live5News, Buttigieg’s poll numbers still lag behind other Democratic candidates in the state of South Carolina.

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