Bannon slated to speak at black entrepreneurs summit

Former White House chief strategist and current Breitbart News Executive Chairman Stephen Bannon is scheduled to speak at a black entrepreneurs summit in Washington, D.C., later this month.  

 

Bannon, who resigned as one of President Trump’s closest advisers on Aug. 18, will speak at an economic policy summit for the Super PAC “Black Americans For A Better Future,” according to the invitation first flagged by HuffPost. 

 

Federal Election Commission filings show 96 percent of the Super PAC’s monetary donations come from billionaire Robert Mercer, a billionaire hedge fund manager. Mercer also helped Bannon fund Breitbart with a $10 million investment in the conservative publication. 

 

The event that Bannon, a former Goldman Sachs investment banker, is slated to speak at is billed as a chance to hear the “Republican vision for creating opportunities for black entrepreneurs.” 

“Black Americans For A Better Future” is chaired by African-American GOP consultant Raynard Jackson. {mosads}

“We just want a fair chance to compete in this American system called capitalism,” Jackson told HuffPost, pointing specifically to helping black entrepreneurs get some of the federal funding that will come from rebuilding cities that were hit by the recent hurricanes.

“Steve [Bannon] and I have conversations about black entrepreneurs all the time,” Jackson said. “Again, most people forget about Steve having a Wall Street background. Steve understands the economics of the small business community better than a lot of people in this town.”

Jackson also said he takes no issue with the Confederate Flag and doesn’t believe Bannon is a racist. 

“Just because your forefathers fought on the Confederate side, that inherently doesn’t mean you are a bad person or you are a racist,” he stated. “I have no problem with the Confederate flag flying on a state capital. I have no problem with these monuments throughout the South.”

“I’ve known Steve a long time. You can call Steve a lot of things ― racist ain’t one of them,” Jackson added. 

Former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski and Congressman Pete Sessions (R-Texas) are also scheduled to speak at the event set for Sept. 26 and 27 in NW Washington.