T.I. And Charlamagne Tha God Joined Lawmakers To Advocate For Opportunity Zones

Charlamagne Tha God and T.I. are joining members of the Congressional Black Caucus at Capitol Hill to advocate for closing the wage gap, more funding and economic development in Black communities.

The initiative that was brought on by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act works to invest in low-income communities. Several celebrities and politicians applauded the forward-thinking policies. At a press conference, Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) rejoiced in the impactful move.

“We have to make sure, as has already been said, that the community impact and those that are in the communities, that these developments are seeking to benefit, that they’re really at the forefront,” he said at a press conference. “And that’s what our congressional hearings on the Ways and Means Committee will focus on.” Atlanta-born rapper #TipHarris and radio host Charlamagne met with lawmakers in the upper chamber and discussed the works of the late Nipsey Hussle, who intended on meeting at Capitol himself before his sudden death in March. T.I. says he hopes to carry on Hussle’s mission.

“Everybody knows that Nipsey was pretty much the founder of the idea to bring everyone together who, you know, may individually be able to do great things and make a significant impact on their own in their communities,” he said. “But for us to come together, we can impact so, so many more communities and spread our efforts so much wider.”

The Hill reports Rep. Antonio Delgado (D-N.Y.), a former rapper himself, is ecstatic about implementing the opportunity zones and says those “who come from these areas, who know the community” need to have all walks of life in the fight in order to see real change.

“We spoke about opportunity zones. You’re talking about not just an opportunity for folks who have been marginalized or exploited or left behind, you’re also talking about opportunity for hip-hop,” he said. “Because what hip-hop has done over its lifetime, has put brothers and sisters who’ve come from tough circumstances in a position to elevate their individual lives and at times their communities.” The proposal for expanding opportunity zones has received bipartisan support; Sens. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) are leading the efforts on legislation in the Senate, according to The Hill.

 

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Opportunity Zones are economically-distressed communities (basically The Hood) where new investments, under certain conditions may be eligible for preferential tax treatment. If you invest in one of these zones directly or through an opportunity fund, you get a tax break on the profits. If you hold it for 10 years, you owe no taxes. Opportunity Zone Legislation is giving us the chance to “gentrify our own hoods before these people do it.” For those of us who are already reinvesting into our communities by buying property and redeveloping it this legislation gives us more incentive to continue to do just that. This is why Nipsey Hussle and @david.a.gross created @our.opportunity so the citizens of these opportunity zones can reap the benefits of this legislation. Ya’ll know I’m big on being mentally healthy and reinvesting in our communities is all part of that healing process. I believe There is a direct correlation between mental health and your environment and if we can create the kinds of environments that are people can thrive in that can be a remedy to a lot of things that have historically caused us psychological issues in our communities but don’t listen to me…..I’m just a man from Moncks Corner S.C. having meetings on Capitol Hill in a track suit and some @puma’s what the hell do I know??? #TMC? ? @elmokebour

A post shared by LENARD (@cthagod) on May 23, 2019 at 2:21pm PDT