New York Democratic Congressman Hakeem Jeffries acknowledged to MSNBC's Ali Velshi that Democrats have taken advantage of African-American electoral support and need to do more to reciprocate their support with policy accomplishments.
During a Tuesday morning television appearance, Jeffries and Velshi spoke about the African-American community and fixing the criminal justice system.
Velshi told Jeffries that he had recently spoken with another member of the Congressional Black Caucus who believed that some individuals within the Democratic Party have taken African-American electoral support for granted.
"The Democrats are going to have to come out there and not assume that because someone is black they should vote Democrat," Velshi said quoting an unnamed member of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Jeffries agreed with this statement from his congressional colleague.
"Democrats need an affirmative agenda to deal with issues impacting African-Americans and there is a feeling amongst some in the African-American community that Democrats as a whole have taken advantage of our loyalty to the party without reciprocating in terms of public policy accomplishments," Jeffries said.
Jeffries represents a New York City congressional district and was first elected in 2012.
