On Friday's New Day, during a discussion of the then-upcoming funeral for South Carolina State Senator Clementa Pinckney, CNN host Alisyn Camerota brought up issues of high poverty in South Carolina's black population and invited Democratic Rep. Jim Clyburn to use the recent church massacre as a springboard to push for diverting more federal money into high-poverty areas.
After Charleston's Democratic mayor, Joseph Riley, spoke of the accomplishments of his tenure, Camerota posed:
And you have accomplished that. Yet, there's so much more work to be done. We have some statistics about what South Carolina looks like. South Carolina poverty rate for whites, 13 percent. For blacks, 30 percent. South Carolina per capita income: $28,000 for whites, $15,000 for blacks. Congressman, after this funeral, what will you go back to Congress and do? What can you change now?
Below is a transcript of the relevant portion of the Friday, June 26, New Day on CNN, from the 8:00 a.m. hour:
ALISYN CAMEROTA: Mayor, you said 40 years ago that you sought this job to help build a bridge between black and white people. Do you feel today that, seeing what you're seeing, that you've accomplished that?
MAYOR JOSEPH RILEY (D-CHARLESTON): Yes, I'm so proud. And the bridge is lots of bridges and lots of strands of affection and respect and lots of housing and neighborhood initiatives and engaging the community and people engaged, and bringing in people of color into every facet and working with Congressman Clyburn on building the International African-American Museum. We've never let up on that. What I wanted was this to be a great city, but it had to be a just city first.CAMEROTA: And you have accomplished that. Yet, there's so much more work to be done.
RILEY: Of course.
REP. JIM CLYBURN (D-SC): Absolutely.
CAMEROTA: We have some statistics about what South Carolina looks like. South Carolina poverty rate for whites, 13 percent. For blacks, 30 percent.CLYBURN: Absolutely.
CAMEROTA: South Carolina per capita income: $28,000 for whites, $15,000 for blacks. Congressman, after this funeral, what will you go back to Congress and do? What can you change now?
CLYBURN: Well, I have been working for the last four or five years trying to get some targeted formula funding into communities like the communities surrounding Charleston.
CAMEROTA: And what would they do?
CLYBURN: Well, to look at the poverty rate in these communities and fund them according to the poverty rate. I've been calling the 10-20-30, that is 10 percent of all of the money in this account must go to those communities where 20 percent or more of the population are stuck beneath the poverty level for the last 30 years. I've written an essay on it. Harvard Law School published it. I've had a hearing before the Republicans.
CAMEROTA: And so, infusing money into the communities, what would that do?
CLYBURN: You extend broadband. Not just money, you're talking about creating jobs. you're talking about doing health care. You start getting broadband, connecting people to the world. You know, this school district not far from here, just about 90 miles, started Brown V. Board of Education. The last time I was in that district, the adoption rate for broadband was only 32 percent. Now, that says to me that too many children in that school district are still locked out from the rest of the world.So you target the resources.You don't add one dime to the deficit. All we're saying is if you appropriate $100 million, then 10 percent of that hundred million should go into these communities. And we aren't talking about just black communities. We're talking about communities in West Virginia, in Kentucky where people are not black, but they are poor.
CAMEROTA: Yes, poverty is everywhere. It's not a black issue.RILEY: And this tragedy enhances this discussion which is needed. I mean, there's been a relatively national pause on many of these issues. The Congressman has been up there fighting, and fighting brilliantly and articulately. But this is, I think the President is here because he is heartbroken at the loss of a special friend. But he's here to speak to the American people about our country and what's next and what more we need to do.
