WASHINGTON (AP) — 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."

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.

Trump also touted passage of a criminal justice reform bill in December. He says the nation's sentencing laws disproportionally "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.