Vice President Kamala Harris has made it a point to engage Black men during this election cycle, as she told an National Association of Black Journalists interview panel in September, she believes that the vote of Black men must be earned, like any other constituency.
However, in some communities, Black men are speaking up out of concern that some Black men won’t vote in their own self-interests.
According to NPR, that includes various communities in North Carolina, forecast as a battleground state this election. It also includes Atlanta, long seen as a bastion for Black progress and a focal point of Black political power. The state that houses it, Georgia, is also a state that could turn blue this election cycle.
On Oct. 11 in Atlanta, at Brothas and Brews, an event hosted in conjunction with the Harris-Walz campaign, the Georgia Democratic Party and local Atlanta community leaders, Black men underscored exactly how vital the upcoming election is for Black men.
According to a press release, the event was moderated by Ryan Wilson, the CEO of The Gathering Spot, and featured a discussion with famed music producer and rapper Jermaine Dupri, producer, CEO, and activist Issac Hayes III, rapper, singer and activist Armani White, Atlanta Public School Board Member Shivy Brooks, and North Fulton County Democrats Chair Dontaye Carter.
Packed room for Brothas & Brews to hear @jermainedupri @CallMeShivy @SpotOnRW and others talk about the power of Black men and their support for @KamalaHarris.
Reject the narrative. Have the conversations. Vote. pic.twitter.com/zSPhvYFOkC
— Jason Esteves (@jasonesteves) October 11, 2024
Dupri expressed to the crowd at the event that it was his position that there is no way Black men from or who live in Atlanta should be voting for former president Donald Trump or the Republican Party.
“If you’re from Atlanta, If you live in this city and you’re a Black man, I don’t see how you’re voting for the other side,” Dupri said. “Listen, I’m telling you. If you live in this city, you love the way this city moves, it’s no way possible you should be voting for the other side.”
Wilson, meanwhile, emphasized Harris’ stated commitments to Black-owned businesses.
“Vice President Harris is committed to supporting minority-owned small businesses and has plans to increase generational wealth by expanding the startup tax deduction for small businesses from $5,000 to $50,000,” Wilson said.
Wilson continued, “Meanwhile, Donald Trump and his Project 2025 will raise taxes for Black and Brown people and give taxes to the wealthiest Americans.”
Carter impressed upon the crowd the importance of Black men voting in lock step alongside Black women in his comments.
“In 2020 Black men showed up, and we showed up again in 2022 for Georgia. We have to have that same belief in 2024, in 2025, in 2026,” Carter said. “Black men are the second largest voting bloc in the Democratic Party behind only Black women. We have always understood the assignment. We can’t allow misinformation and false narratives to dictate how we feel about voting. If that was the mentality of Dr. King, Fred Gray, Thurgood Marshall, we would not be where we are today.”
In North Carolina, there are sentiments from Black voters that align with what former president Barack Obama called out during a campaign speech for Harris.
According to Cherita Evans, a Black woman who cuts hair at the Head Changerz shop in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, her circle of Black women friends are solidly pro-Harris, she is not as sure about the men.
“Most of my female family and friends — they’re voting for Harris,” Evans said. “I think…a lot of men aren’t ready to vote for a woman. In my community, you have a lot of men, who, you know, won’t even be under a female leadership in church.”
According to Level Man, a cross-section of Black men in North Carolina barbershops reveals varying levels of political engagement, but most of them seem to understand that a vote for Harris is most likely a vote for progress, even if some find appeal in one or two of former president Trump’s policies.
Damian Johnson, a 51-year-old Black man who runs No Grease Barber School, located 25 minutes outside of Charlotte, said that some of Trump’s appeal with younger Black voters comes down to an entertainment factor.
Johnson, who is currently undecided on who he will vote for, also said that more broadly, the way American politics works, Black men have been largely ignored. He also noted that his two daughters are excited about their ability to vote for the first Black woman candidate in their lifetimes.
“The campaigns haven’t really spoken to the everyday Black man,” said Johnson, whose barbershop chains are located in states with large populations of Black people. “So, Black men are on the fence a little bit. I don’t know if there’s ever been a candidate who has actually spoken to the Black man.”
Johnson continued, “Listen, I got a Black wife, Black daughters. I’m Black, Black, Black. I love Black. I’m for Black, but for my vote, we want to talk about reparations. We want to talk about our economic situation here in this country. We could deal with crime, we could deal with education, we could deal with healthcare, if we got support. Not assistance, but investment. This is a capitalist country. It’s built on investment. It’s not built on healthcare. No, it’s built on capitalism. So, we want our needs to be addressed specifically for us as Black men. Black people, period.”
According to The Hill, Georgia’s Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock said during an appearance on CNN that he is not worried about polling that indicates Harris has a smaller share of the Black vote than past Democratic candidates have had, and spoke out against the idea that Black men are going to vote for Trump en masse.
“Let me tell you something this morning, Black men are not going to vote for Donald Trump in any significant numbers. There will be some. We’re not a monolith,” Warnock said.
Warnock continued, “Again, we’re not a monolith, but this, this idea that large numbers of Black men are going to vote for Donald Trump, it’s not going to happen. I think that folks will recognize how much is really at stake in this moment, and that the choice really is not between voting and not voting. Not to vote is a vote,” Warnock said. “It pushes Donald Trump that much closer to the White House and that’s something that we cannot afford to happen.”
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