Send this page to someone via email

Share this item on Twitter

Share this item via WhatsApp

Share this item on Facebook

President Donald Trump is pledging to expand opportunity for Americans of every race, religion and creed as he commemorates Black History Month.

Speaking to hundreds Thursday at a White House reception, Trump boasted about the economy and said the unemployment rate for African-Americans is at its “lowest ever.”

WATCH: White House says Trump trying to fix unemployment for ‘all Americans’ (2018)

1:09 White House says Trump trying to fix unemployment for ‘all Americans’ White House says Trump trying to fix unemployment for ‘all Americans’

Black unemployment did reach a low, 5.9 percent, in May 2018. But that figure changes monthly and had increased to 6.8 percent by January.

Story continues below advertisement

Trump also touted passage of a criminal justice reform bill in December. He says the nation’s sentencing laws disproportionately “harm African-American communities far, far greater than anybody else.”

Catherine Toney, one of the first inmates released through the bill’s passage, thanked Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner for their efforts as the crowd applauded in approval.