Buttigieg makes case to black civil rights group amid poor polling, police shooting

close

Video

Mayor Pete Buttigieg faces questions about his presidential campaign after fatal police shooting in South Bend

Buttigieg heckled at town hall ahead of first Democratic presidential debate; reaction and analysis from Fox News politics editor Chris Stirewalt.

Democratic presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg on Tuesday addressed Rev. Jesse Jackson’s civil rights group as he sought to fire up his poor support from the black community amid a controversy surrounding the shooting of a black man by police back home in Indiana.

Buttigieg spoke to the Rainbow PUSH Coalition convention in Chicago, telling attendees that significant political action was needed to reverse the effects of racism in America, something he said was more than just replacing a racist policy with a neutral one.

BUTTIGIEG STRUGGLES WITH RACIAL UNREST IN SOUTH BEND

“The policies that created these inequities were put in place intentionally, so that means it’s going to take intentional action to reverse those harms -- bold and meaningful action that addresses not only the question of safety but also the question of prosperity, knowing that the two cannot be separated.”

He also made references to incidents of discrimination by police officers against African-Americans.

“We are living in shadows cast through time and across the country and policing is only part of the story,” he said. “Yes the uniform is burdened by racism, but it goes beyond that.”

Buttigieg made the remarks shortly after his campaign announced an impressive haul of $24.8 million in the second fundraising quarter -- topping the $18 million raised last quarter by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. But that healthy financial support masks his limited support from African-Americans.

A CNN poll released Monday found that Buttigieg’s support was at 6 percent, but his support from African-Americans was at zero.

BUTTIGIEG TRIPLES FUNDRAISING HAUL IN LAST QUARTER, RAKES IN NEARLY $25 M

Buttigieg, who is mayor of South Bend, Indiana, is facing a race-related controversy back home, where he has struggled to respond to the shooting death by police of 54-year-old Eric Logan, who was black.

Logan was shot by Sgt. Ryan O’Neill when the officer was responding to a report of a suspicious person breaking into cars. Investigators said Logan threatened O’Neill with a knife, at which point O’Neill shot Logan once, with another shot that missed him.

Video

Buttigieg has said that the city's efforts to recruit more minority police officers and require officers to use body cameras "have not succeeded and I accept responsibility for that."

Prosecutors said the shooting of Logan was not recorded by Sgt. O'Neill's body camera.

Buttigieg has skipped campaign events to fly home, and has been repeatedly berated by protesters.

On Tuesday he said that pundits frequently pose the question of confronting racial concerns in political terms, and said he is asked more often than not how his policies will affect “the black vote,” more than if they will help black Americans.

“This is not just a political problem and it is not just a police problem and it is not just my problem or my city’s problem. And it is certainly not just a 'black problem.' This is an American problem, and it requires nationwide American solutions,” Buttigieg said.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

He proposed a “50 percent reduction in incarceration” by legalizing pot and eliminating prison for drug possession, while abolishing private federal prisons and ending what he called “petty fines and fees that criminalize poverty.” Additionally he called for greater investments in rehabilitation for those leaving prison, so that they have health care, education access and access to housing when they leave jail.'

Buttigieg is one of a number of candidates to push a series of radical policies to deal with racial inequalities, including cutting the prison population, legalizing marijuana and even reparations for slavery.

Fox News' Samuel Chamberlain and The Associated Press contributed to this report.