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Trump pledges to expand opportunity for every race

President Donald Trump with first lady Melania Trump, greets invited guests during a National African American History Month reception in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Original Publication Date February 21, 2019 - 5:41 PM

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump is pledging to expand opportunity for Americans of every race, religion and creed as he commemorates Black History Month.

Speaking to hundreds Thursday at a White House reception, Trump boasted about the economy and said the unemployment rate for African-Americans is at its "lowest ever."

Black unemployment did reach a low, 5.9 per cent, in May 2018. But that figure changes monthly and had increased to 6.8 per cent by January.

Trump also touted passage of a criminal justice reform bill in December. He says the nation's sentencing laws disproportionally "harm African-American communities far, far greater than anybody else."

Catherine Toney, one of the first inmates released through the bill's passage, thanked Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner for their efforts as the crowd applauded in approval.

News from © The Associated Press, 2019
The Associated Press

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