Minnesota lawmakers look for answers to black wealth gap

[...] with a boost from Minnesota's liberal governor and the muscle of a nearly $1 billion surplus, the state is considering plowing millions of dollars into initiatives intended to help more black residents catch the economic tide that has pushed statewide unemployment below 4 percent — even as African Americans are four times as likely to be out of work.

Democratic Sen. Bobby Champion, one of three black lawmakers in Minnesota's 201-member Legislature, said too many activists focus on the circumstances of Clark's shooting and press for release of video footage of his tussle with police.

Job training and placement programs, fast-tracked GED initiatives, a surge of loans and investments for minority-owned businesses and expanded access to private schools are on the table in the Minnesota Legislature.

Gov. Mark Dayton has promised to double the state government's share of minority workers and recently outlined $100 million in proposed investments aimed at boosting high school graduation rates, helping low-income residents buy their first homes and other forms of assistance.

Since the Legislature convened this month, the issue has been shaping up along partisan lines.

While Dayton and fellow Democrats have outlined new spending programs, Republicans who control the House countered with extra tax credits to send more people to private schools, with some lawmakers questioning the big dollar figures their political opponents have pledged.