ERIE, Pa. -- Vice President Kamala Harris announced a plan on Monday to
give Black men more economic opportunities and other chances to thrive as
she works to energize a key voting bloc that has Democrats concerned about
a lack of enthusiasm.

Harris' plan includes providing forgivable business loans for Black
entrepreneurs, creating more apprenticeships and studying sickle cell and
other diseases that disproportionately affect African American men.

Harris already has said she supports legalizing marijuana and her plan
calls for working to ensure that Black men have opportunities to
participate as a �national cannabis industry takes shape.� She also is
calling for better regulating cryptocurrency to protect Black men and
others who invest in digital assets.

The vice president's �opportunity agenda for Black men� is meant to
invigorate African American males at a moment when there are fears some
may sit out the election rather than vote for Harris or her opponent,
Republican former President Donald Trump.

The vice president unveiled the plan as she visited Erie, Pennsylvania,
where she stopped by LegendErie Records and Coffee House, a Black-owned
small business, for a conversation with Black men from the area.

The business, opened just five weeks ago, is the project of Ishmael and
Allana Trainor, a married couple of Erie natives who returned to their
hometown after living for years in Arizona.

Later, Harris held a campaign rally in the northwest Pennsylvania city,
where she pilloried Trump for suggesting in a weekend Fox News interview
that the U.S. military may need to be deployed to quell an �enemy from
within� if Election Day is disturbed by agitators.

Her push comes after former President Barack Obama suggested last week
that some Black men �aren�t feeling the idea of having a woman as
president.�

The Harris campaign also has been working to increase support among other
male voting blocs, including Hispanics, by founding the group �Hombres con
Harris,� Spanish for �Men with Harris.� The latest policy rollout is
notable because it comes with the stated purpose of motivating Black men
to vote mere weeks before Election Day.

As her campaign has done with the �Hombres� group, Harris� team plans to
organize gender-specific gatherings. Those include �Black Men Huddle Up�
events in battleground states featuring African American male celebrities
for things like watch parties for NFL and NCAA football games. The
campaign says it also plans new testimonial ads in battleground states
that feature local Black male voices.

Cedric Richmond, co-chair of the Harris campaign and a former Louisiana
congressman who is Black, said Harris wants to build an economy "where
Black men are equipped with the tools to thrive: to buy a home, provide
for our families, start a business and build wealth.�

https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/harris-laying-new-plan-empower-black-
men-energize-114771743