Pete Buttigieg: “This is about making sure that people and businesses who…”

“… itself, that the only reason a black has a contract is somebody gave him a handout. Right. And the irony of it, of course, is that this is about merit. This is about making sure that people and businesses who have been excluded get a chance to compete, get a chance to participate, get a chance to create generational wealth and deliver projects. Well, and we've seen this, especially in transportation, going back certainly to Atlanta, whose black middle class today has a lot to do with the then mayor Maynard Jackson insisting that the airport project was fair in creating opportunities for black led contracting firms.” (18:09–18:22)

This is an excerpt from a raw transcript. The assertions have not been audited or verified. Tap the video to view the source footage and understand the context.