Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg Scores "F" Grade on 2020 Racial Justice Presidential Candidate Scorecard

WASHINGTON, Feb. 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today the Center for Urban and Racial Equity (CURE) announced the addition of former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to its 2020 Racial Justice Presidential Candidate Scorecard. Bloomberg received an "F" grade, placing him among the lowest ranked of the presidential candidates including Former Vice President Joe Biden (D) and Tom Steyer (D). While Bloomberg's proposed Greenwood Initiative includes promising economic justice strategies for Black America and landed him high scores in the Housing and Racial Wealth Gap category of the scorecard, his criminal justice record in NYC should give any racial justice voter cause for concern. During his tenure, stop-and-frisk police stops exploded, with police making over 5 million stops of mostly Black and Latinx men and boys during Bloomberg's three terms as mayor. Stop-and-frisk was eventually ruled unconstitutional and found to be ineffective in reducing crime but not before it caused lasting harm to many New Yorkers of color.

Bloomberg also has not released plans in several areas evaluated in the scorecard including police reform and universal pre-k.

The latest candidate scores as of 2/11/2020 are as follows:

The Rankings

Since its launch in December 2019, the scorecard has been featured in theRoot, Ebony, NewsOne, HuffPost and other national media. The scorecard analyzes presidential candidates' policy proposals through a racial equity lens across critical areas including criminal justice reform, education, health care, voting rights, reparations, environmental justice, immigration, indigenous rights, the racial wealth gap, and candidates' past and current rhetoric and language around racial justice issues important to communities of color. 

The scorecard has had an impact on the race as presidential campaigns have contacted CURE to explore ways to improve their scores. Most importantly, the scorecard is a resource for voters who care about racial justice issues, with the website averaging 12,000 weekly unique visitors. CURE is co-hosting events with community organizations to engage voters in dialogue on where the candidates stand on racial justice. Upcoming events include policy forums in Miami, FL and Spartanburg, SC ahead of the primaries in those states.

For more information, visit www.racialjustice2020.org.

SOURCE Center for Urban and Racial Equity