UPDATE: The forum is now complete, but those who missed it may scroll down to watch the archived video. A Fusion poll shows Bernie Sanders winning the forum with 82 percent of the vote.
At 7 p.m. CST on Monday evening, the three Democratic candidates for president will take the stage at Drake University's Sheslow Auditorium to discuss issues foremost on the minds of American minorities. But this year will be a little different. In previous years, all three took the stage in a debate format, but since the Democratic National Committee has limited debates, each candidate will speak separately.
Although a predominantly white state, Iowa's minority populations are growing. The black population stands at approximately 100,000 but is expected to grow to 187,000 by 2040. The Hispanic population is projected to be even higher, reaching 450,000 by 2050.
The Des Moines Register reports that the Brown & Black Presidential Forum is especially important in lieu of recent events involving minorities and police shootings.
Izaah Knox, a recruiter for Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield, is also an associate executive director of Urban Dreams social service agency. Knox is looking for specific topics from each candidate at the Brown & Black Forum.
"The kids I work with now, it's not that they can't succeed, it's that they don't have the opportunity to succeed. They don't even know these opportunities exist."
According to the Brown & Black Presidential Forum website, this event is the nation's oldest and only presidential forum where all Democratic candidates address concerns specific to blacks and Latinos.
Fusion anchors Jorge Ramos and Alicia Menendez will moderate, along with New York Magazine writer-at-large Rembert Browne and Fusion contributor Akilah Hughes. Fusion's aim is to attract a large, diverse audience of multicultural voters to watch the forum. Ramos gained notoriety for confronting Donald Trump in August at Trump's press conference for his inflammatory remarks about immigration.
Ramos will be at least one of the moderators who will press the candidates for clear answers to tough questions. After being thrown out of Trump's press conference, Ramos hit back hard.
"This is the kind of thing that you see in dictatorships, but not in the United States of America."
For Bernie Sanders supporters, the Brown & Black Forum could help push their candidate into front-runner status, as gaining the minority vote is especially important in this primary season.
