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Sean “Diddy” Combs is expanding his political endeavors by launching his new Our Black Party in part to prevent Donald Trump‘s re-election. The mogul expressed urgency during his announcement Friday and warned in a tweet that America is “on the verge of a race war.”

Diddy, of course, is no stranger to politics, having launched his Vote Or Die platform more than a decade ago. His TV network, Revolt, has also been home to a series of riveting panel discussions centered on elections in recent years.

But after he recently threatened to mobilize Black voters and hold their support at the polls “hostage” unless a candidate directly addressed their needs, Diddy said Friday that he realized such an approach was “irresponsible” and instead opted to launch Our Black Party to “make sure going forward we are doing what it takes to own our politics.”

According to its website, Our Black Party is “committed to creating an agenda and elevating policies and people focused on Black liberation. With this agenda, we will energize voters—current and new—reframe the national political landscape, and reshape culture for the benefit of Black people.”

It is based upon 10 pillars: defunding the police; guaranteed income for all; decriminalizing poverty; addressing racism in healthcare; growing Black businesses; electing “at least 1,000 Black people to positions of power at every level of government that support the Black agenda;” the creation of cabinet-level “equity officers” in each state “to ensure that all state programs are developed with an equity and justice lens;” high-quality and affordable education; marijuana legalization; and closing the racial wealth gap.

Our Black Party is led by “young Black elected officials and activists” like Candace Hollingsworth, the mayor of Hyattsville, Maryland, and Dr. Wes Bellamy, the retired vice mayor of Charlottesville, Virginia. Both serve as national co-chairs of Our Black Party alongside three other people: Stephanie Morales, the Commonwealth Attorney in Portsmouth, Virginia; Lea Webb, a retired councilor in Binghamton, New York; and Rashaad Lambert, founder of For(bes) the Culture.

In introducing Our Black Party, Diddy also offered his endorsement of Joe Biden.

“We need to get Biden in and hold him accountable,” Diddy also tweeted Friday morning. “Trump has taken things too far. As Black people, we aren’t even a topic of real discussion. We can no longer stand for doing the same thing over and over expecting different results. That’s insanity! It’s time we unify.”

He stressed that the ultimate goal of Our Black Party is to have a plan of action that actually prioritizes Black people politically and socially.

“The mission is to create a platform to help advance a political agenda that addresses the needs of Black people,” Diddy tweeted. “So, going forward we aren’t in the same position we are in today.”

He encouraged people to visit OurBlackParty.org to learn more.

Diddy joined fellow hip-hoppers Ice Cube and Kanye West as high-profile rappers who have injected themselves into this highly charged election season. The only difference is that he wants Biden to win the election while Ice Cube and Kanye have aligned themselves with Trump’s Republicans.

SEE ALSO:

The Black Ballot: Targeting Generation Z, Millennial Voters Ahead Of The Election

Kanye West Flaunts Write-In Votes, Launches “Vote Kanye” Merch

 

 

Diddy Warns Of ‘A Race War’ As He Launches New Political Party ‘To Get Trump Out Of Office’  was originally published on newsone.com