Green Party Presidential hopeful Cornel West slammed President Biden’s record on race, saying his contribution to the mass incarceration of black Americans is tantamount to ‘crimes against humanity,’ according to the New York Post.
West condemned the Biden-sponsored 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, which some believe led to a dramatic uptick in incarcerations. “Well, I think you’ll think Joe Biden contributed to a crime against humanity when he became the architect of the mass incarceration regime in the 1990s,” the 70-year-old former Harvard philosophy professor told the New York Post.
The 1994 crime bill hired over 100,000 police officers and funded prisons with $9.7 billion. The bill reinforced an existing piece of legislation, the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986, which created huge disparities in sentencing between crack and powder cocaine, according to the Brookings Institute. Because crack was so much more common in lower-income black neighborhoods, black people were far more likely to given enhanced sentences, says Brookings. (RELATED: ‘I’ve Answered Your Question’: Psaki Shuts Down Reporter Pressing On Biden’s Role In 1994 Crime Bill)
“I’ve taught in prison for 41 years. And the level of barbarity in our prisons has something to do with that crime bill that he put forward,” said West. West, who has written a number of best-selling books on race, accused Biden of using black people for “window dressing,” saying he was good at putting “black faces in high places.” He added that “Black folks are low priority” to Biden and gave him a “C-” on race relations.
West, who initially announced his 2024 candidacy with the newly-formed People’s Party, formally declared he’d be seeking the Green Party’s nomination June 13. Best selling author and former Green Party candidate Chris Hedges explained his switch will make it much easier to get on the ballot. “The Greens have about 20 states… I don’t think it’s unrealistic to think that they could get another 20,” he told left-wing podcaster Briahna Joy Gray. He cited staunch Democratic opposition to any third-party ballot access saying West would need millions to fight legal challenges — mounted by the DNC — to see his name on the ballot.