Trump struggles to convince black leaders his administration will respond to racial inequities on coronavirus

Fauci assumed another role this week, reaching out to reassure black congressional leaders that the Trump administration is pursuing strategies to mitigate the outsize impact of the disease on minority communities.In an hour-long conference call with the Congressional Black Caucus, Fauci heard from members who emphasized the need to surge federal testing resources and medical gear to black communities, which data have shown are at a higher risk of being infected by and dying of the novel coronavirus.Caucus Chair Karen Bass (D-Calif.) said she quoted Fauci’s own words, from an interview with MSNBC host Al Sharpton on Sunday, that the administration has “got to bring the resources where the risk and vulnerability is.”Fauci, she said, pledged to take the group’s recommendations back to the task force. Trump has just one black memberin his Cabinet or West Wing senior staff — Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson — and black leaders expressed doubts over the administration’s ability to help disseminate crucial public health information to minority communities and its willingness to provide the federal resources necessary to combat the disease.Sign up for our Coronavirus Updates newsletter to track the outbreak. Adams, who is black, has appeared on BET.The Rev. Darrell Scott and Kareem Lanier, prominent African American supporters of Trump who oversee an urban redevelopment organization, said they have had discussions with federal and state officials, along with athletes, entertainers and civic leaders, about forming an outside task force that would help the Trump administration examine and respond to the health and economic impacts of the virus on black communities.They pointed to Trump’s work on criminal justice reform, economic opportunity zones and funding for historically black colleges and universities as evidence of his commitment to African American communities.“We need to make sure we give money and testing to distressed communities,” Lanier said.