In his first in-person event in over two months, Joe Biden met with community leaders at a predominantly Black church in his hometown to address the outrage and protests surrounding George Floyd's death.
Bishop Thomas Wesley Weeks stands as he speaks to Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden at Bethel AME Church in Wilmington, Del., on Monday.Bishop Thomas Wesley Weeks stands as he speaks to Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden at Bethel AME Church in Wilmington, Del.
, on Monday.Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., spoke emotionally of a recent exchange she had with a 23-year-old protester in Wilmington who told her he was"willing to die." "He said, 'I have so much rage.' And I said, 'How old are you? What's your name? How old are you?' And I just tried to hold him. COVID or not," the congresswoman said."I want to make something clear: I don't expect anything from the black community," he said."It has to be earned, earned every single time." Biden said he's spent time speaking with black thought leaders about how to move forward as a country and said people who"don't think of themselves as having a prejudiced bone in their body" are now reckoning with the discrimination endemic in some American institutions."The band-aid's been ripped off by this pandemic and this president. No one can pretend any longer what this is all about. Nobody can pretend who has been carrying us on our backs — it's the minorities," Biden said. Biden listed specific plans for his would-be administration, including heightened federal oversight over local law enforcement, additional training for police officers and increased economic opportunity for African Americans. He teased the announcement of a new economic proposal in the coming weeks, which he said will have a strong emphasis on housing, education and access to capital. "The ultimate answer for every other group has been access to economic opportunity," Biden said."What is the future? The future is you gotta be able to get out of bed and think, 'I can make it, I can do something. The deck's not completely stacked.'" He also stressed what he characterized a critical need to change leadership in the Senate, particularly as it relates to confirming federal judges. "If we don't win back the United States Senate, we're going to be in real trouble," Biden said."Presidents come and go. But I tell you what, justices don't. They last a long time."The event ended with a prayer and Biden saying he'll rely on the group for advice throughout his campaign. "I know I'm going to make mistakes," he said before quoting the expression,"What comes from the heart goes straight to the heart." "It's going to come from the heart. But I'll need help," the former vice president said."I need help and advice as we go along as to what you think I should and shouldn't be doing." This marked Biden's third public appearance in a week, his first trips away from his home since mid-March. He has been campaigning from his house due to coronavirus lockdown orders. Biden left his home on Memorial Day to lay a wreath at a veterans park near his home, and on Sunday hein Wilmington where protesters had gathered the night before in response to Floyd's death. Biden held a virtual meeting with mayors later in the day and had virtual fundraisers planned for Monday evening.
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