How does one define power in the current political climate where it seems the extreme left and extreme right exacerbates the divide among party lines? Is it by title, pedigree, or affluence? Well, State Senator Darius Brown has none of those.
Darius believes influence comes from his proximity to everyday people.
The freshman senator was elected in 2018 to represent the historically African American Senate District, following in the footsteps of Herman Holloway, Sr. and Margaret Rose Henry, the first African American man, and first African American woman ever elected to the Delaware Senate, respectively. Senator Brown is the only African American that serves on the Joint Capital Improvement Committee in the Delaware General Assembly and this year he has delivered big for his district and African American institutions.
According to The Road to Zero Wealth 2019 report published by Prosperity Now and the Institute for Policy Studies, the median wealth of Black Americans will fall to zero by 2053 if current trends continue. Senator Brown believes that African American and disadvantaged communities in the first state will need $1B of investment over the next 5 years to change the income-to-debt ratio and create generational wealth. That is why he has worked to appropriate over $100 million dollars of requests in the FY22 Bond Bill to begin tackling this issue. Among some of his colleagues in recent days, they have coined him “The $100 Million Dollar Manâ€.
In response, Senator Brown says, “I could not have accomplished this alone. Governor Carney, the Bond Bill Committee, Delaware Legislative Black Caucus, and members of the General Assembly all played a substantial role in making these historic investments in communities that have been traditionally left behind.â€
The reality is this is just a start in eliminating the systemic barriers to reduce poverty and repair the ladder to upward mobility and wealth creation. It is foundational and we must continue to build upon it in every corner of our state. Investing in infrastructure is about more than just brick and mortar; it is also about people and how we expand economic opportunity and community development.
This $100 million dollar investment is the capstone to a productive legislative year for Senator Brown who has been a champion in the Statehouse for criminal justice reform and racial equity, having passed a historic Equals Rights Amendment prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin; The CROWN Act, banning hair discrimination; mandating law enforcement be equipped with body-worn cameras; establishing Juneteenth as a state holiday, and passing Clean Slate to automatically expungement of the records for over 290,000 Delawareans.
Senator Darius Brown says, “I am thankful to God, the prayers and support of my family, friends and residents of the Second Senate District. Without them, none of this would have been accomplished.”
