Kamala Harris promises ‘opportunity’ for Black men amid waning support

In a race that is increasingly competitive, United States Vice President Kamala Harris has unveiled a number of economic proposals designed to empower and motivate Black men.

On Monday, Harris unveiled an “opportunity agenda for Black men” to increase Black men’s chances of succeeding as a result of her efforts to energize a significant voting bloc. The proposals include a $1 million guarantee for small business loans and a pledge to legalize marijuana for recreational use to ensure Black entrepreneurs have access to the new sector.

They come as the Harris campaign’s focus on losing Black men’s support has gotten worse.

In contrast to the 85 percent who voted for US President Joe Biden in the previous election, 70 percent of Black male voters now say they will support Harris. Younger Black men have been turning away from the Democratic Party frequently because they are angry that their experiences don’t get as much attention in policy as other groups do.

It’s not clear how many of those voters would turn to Harris’s opponent, former President Donald Trump, or simply sit out the election. Trump has been making a point of hiring Black voters because he claims that border crossings could cause them to lose jobs. According to a recent poll conducted by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), more than a quarter of young Black men say they would support Trump in the election.

The Harris campaign stated in a statement that “Black men have long felt that there is so much untapped ambition and leadership within the Black male community.”

The campaign also made the campaign’s suggestions for expanding Black Americans’ access to the cryptocurrency industry and launching a national health equity initiative aimed at addressing conditions like sickle cell anemia, which disproportionately affect the community.

Cedric Richmond, co-chair of the Harris campaign and a former Louisiana congressman who is Black, said Harris wants to build an economy “where Black men are equipped with the tools to thrive: to buy a home, provide for our families, start a business and build wealth”.

Sexism or exasperation?

Harris would become the second Black president and first woman to hold office if she were elected, despite her campaign trail campaign efforts to minimize her identity.

Earlier this week, former President Barack Obama, one of the Democratic Party’s most popular figures, issued an urgent call for Black men to drop “excuses” and vote for Harris, suggesting that the lacklustre support among some may have to do with sexism. The vice president’s support from Black women remains strong, at about 83 percent.

Some Black men, Obama said then, “aren’t feeling the idea of having a woman as president”.

“I’m sorry, gentlemen. I’ve noticed this, especially with some men who seem to think Trump’s behaviour – the bullying, and the putting people down – is a sign of strength. At a Pennsylvania rally, Obama said, “I am here to tell you that is not what real strength is.” Real strength is based on “standing up for those who can’t always stand up for themselves” and “assisting those who are in need.”

But some Black people took offense to Obama’s remarks.

“It’s wrong to single out Black men when Black men are the most loyal male voting block for Democrats”, Nina Turner, a senior fellow at the Institute on Race, Power and Political Economy, said on social media.

Harris has stated to campaign staff that they must hold more rallies and events to put Black men at the center of attention. She wants to emphasize how all of her economic proposals benefit men, even though the new plans are intended to address Black people.

By founding the organization “Hombres con Harris,” the campaign has also been working to increase support among other male voting blocs, including Hispanics. As her campaign has done with the group (“hombres” means “men” in Spanish), Harris’s team plans to organise gender-specific gatherings. For watch parties at NFL and NCAA football games, there are “Black Men Huddle Up” events taking place in battleground states where African-American male celebrities from different races. The campaign says it also intends to run new battleground state testimonial ads with local Black men voices.

A new ad in Philadelphia that appeared to be targeted at the sexism Obama made reference to surfaced on Monday.

“She’s had our back since day one”, said the ad’s narrator. “Let’s be honest and get a reality check. Women know how to make things happen”.

According to Philip Agnew, the founder of the grassroots political organization Black Men Build, the debate over how much misogyny affects some Black men who don’t support him goes against the grain.

According to Agnew, “Being a Black man in the United States is neither an invisible nor a hypervisible thing, and neither of those things is a humanizing viewpoint,” adding that many Americans share his sentiment of exasperation with Black men.

Source: Aljazeera