As the primaries begin to flesh out the candidates that will challenge Donald Trump in 2020, Democractic candidates have began pandering and jocking for position. And as always, they are now smiling and courting the black vote.

A relatively obscure politician has risen into the national conversation on who should be the next person to occupy 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue for the next 4 years. He is not Greek but he does come bearing the “promise” of giving gifts.

South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, the man whom Donald Trump designated as a non-factor, has now arisen with a new flame in his campaign. Recent polls conducted among the voting electorate showed Buttigieg polling at zero among black voters. So he went back to the lab and he has returned with a plan for Black America.

Buttigieg is now calling series for a series of policy reforms that if effective, would reportedly, eliminate the structural edifices that enable economic and social inequality in Black America.

Named after Black Abolitionist Frederick Douglass, the plan was unveiled at The Essence Festival in 2019. It calls for a 25 billion dollar investment plan in HBCU’s and minority based institutions. The Plan also includes the Walker-Lewis Initiative; named after the late black millionaires Madam C.J. Walker & Reginald F. Lewis.

The initiative purports to triple the number of  black entrepreneurs  over the next 10 years.  Additionally, the plan creates a fund for investment in black owned businesses, as well as, offer loan deferments and forgiveness programs to black college students who start businesses after graduating.

Buttigieg also offers his 21st Century Homestead Act. This plan allows eligible residents to purchase abandoned properties in blighted communities all over the country, while simultaneously investing in the revitalization of surrounding communities.

These proposals come in the aftermath of the police shooting of 54-yr old Eric Logan. Many have argued that these proposals are simply Mayor Buttigieg’s attempt to save face due to his failure to properly handle the fallout from the shooting.

Buttigieg has vowed to regain the trust and support of not only his community, but the larger black electorate as well. He is gambling on the Douglass Plan being evidence of his commitment to changing the game for the black community. Whether he is sincere in these endeavors is anyone’s guess. But in comparison to other Democratic front runners,  he is the only candidate to spell out to Black America what it would receive in exchange for its support.

The only thing wrong with Buttigieg’s plan is that it does not spell out how this will all be paid for. And that is the rub. It is almost certain that the masses of White America will not be so charitable as to accept a tax increase to level the playing field for Black America. In fact, they will recoil in horror at the mere suggestion of such.

So unless he is prepared to be savaged at the polls, he will have to be extremely strategic in how he presents these measures on the campaign trail.

It is interesting that most of the black news outlets and social media forums have failed to speak about Buttigieg’s plan at all. This is a very interesting development due to the fact that we have been yelling about a Black Agenda for at least the last two election cycles.

Where is Roland Martin? Joe Madison? Joy Reid? Al Sharpton?Or any of the others that fancy themselves as influencers in the black community?

ANSWER: Firmly standing behind Joe Biden; a man who has not even proposed anything resembling Buttigieg’s ambitious initiatives.

But then again, this is the nature of black politics as played out by the Democratic Party. And that’s exactly why the NEGROMANOSPHERE exists. Just keep right on reading!

TONY MACEO is a Senior Blogger at the Negromanosphere. Support on paypal @wayofstrategy44@gmail.com or on Patreon at Powerofstrategies. TILL NEXT, I’LL HOLLA!