What has Kamala Harris done for Black men besides have Barack Obama scold them? | Opinion
Women will decide the race for president.
From J.D. Vance’s “cat lady” comments to the horrendous stories of women who’ve had their health compromised due to the lack of reproductive rights caused by the repeal of Roe v. Wade, the narrative behind this election has been about women taking back control of their bodies and demonstrating their power at the ballot box.
A prime example of that power came when Vice President Kamala Harris started her presidential campaign. Her popularity skyrocketed when female Popstar Charli XCX endorsed her on X, calling the VP, “brat.” And it was but a month ago when music Icon Taylor Swift announced that she was voting for the vice president for POTUS.
Women are leading in this election and showing their support for Harris. That’s great.
So it comes as a surprise, as a Black man, to watch as Black leaders wag the finger at Black men for moving away from Harris and Democrats.
Los Angeles Lakers legend and successful entrepreneur Magic Johnson was among those pointing fingers:
“Our Black men, we gotta get them out to vote,” Johnson said to a crowd of Harris supporters. “Kamala’s opponent promised a lot of things last time to the Black community that he did not deliver on. We gotta make sure Black men understand that.”
Then former President Barack Obama chimed in on behalf of Harris.
“Part of it makes me think that, well, you just aren’t feeling the idea of having a woman as president, and you’re coming up with other alternatives and other reasons for that,” Mr. Obama said, adding that the “women in our lives have been getting our backs this entire time.
“When we get in trouble and the system isn’t working for us, they’re the ones out there marching and protesting.”
First off, Obama’s comments come off too harsh and wrongfully suggest that any lack of support for Harris is coming from a place of hatred for women. No, Mr. President.
Voters are pretty simple. If you cater to them, they will come out to support you.
Black men have not been Harris’ focus
Harris’ popularity with Black men is slipping because, simply put, she hasn’t directed her campaign toward them. Harris has focused her energies elsewhere, as her most notable stops have been on the TV Show “The View” and recently the “Call Her Daddy” podcast. Both programs have large audiences of women, mostly white women.
Good for Harris to try to mobilize a younger, more apolitical demographic but these are not where Black men are. She has not taken the Black male vote seriously up until this point.
Let’s be frank, Harris has spoken more about adding a Republican to her cabinet than she has about issues that are important to Black men.
This is not just a problem with Harris but with the Democrat Party. The recent New York Times/Siena poll validated previous polls showing that Democrats have lost ground with Black and Latino voters. Specifically, the Times poll had Harris winning 78 percent of the Black vote, which sounds good until you consider that Obama got 95 percent of the Black vote in 2008. The Times poll also showed that 20 percent of Black men said they would vote for Harris’ opponent, former President Donald Trump. That number - 20 percent of Black men for Trump - is a big, significant number and a worry for Harris.
But scolding Black men is not the way to address it.
When it was time to name a running mate for Harris, there was no thought that it could’ve been a Black man. All the potential candidates were white men. There have not been many opportunities for Black men to see themselves represented in Harris’ administration plans. Harris, who is married to a white man, needs to address this.
Harris must take Black men seriously
Now, in Harris’ defense, she did release an “Opportunity Agenda for Black Men” on Monday. As NBC reported: “The policies include a plan to provide as many as 1 million fully forgivable loans of up to $20,000 for Black entrepreneurs; further investment into training, mentorship and apprenticeship programs designed to help Black men land jobs in high-demand industries; and the legalization of recreational marijuana, paired with a concerted effort to make sure Black men are able to access wealth and jobs in that market.”
She also unveiled plans recently to legalize marijuana, portraying it as a way to support Black men and their aspiring businesses in the cannabis industry. While there is a historical connection to Black men and marijuana, specifically the unjust incarceration of them for weed possession, this will only address a small portion of men who are in the industry.
Harris is also a candidate, a self-identified Black woman, who has been largely quiet about her identity. How do Black men and also women, get behind a candidate who seems to avoid talking openly about the one major thing that they have in common?
This will be a groundbreaking election for our country. But the key demographic that will be the engine that pushes Harris’ campaign to the finish line will not be Black men. The narrative around this election has been women. They are voting to protect their children from gun violence, to ensure that their reproductive rights are protected and they have the resources to be financially stable.
In 2008, Black people came out to see that the country finally had a Black president. It’s time for women of all walks to do that with Harris.
But if Harris wants to have bigger support from Black men, then there has to be a better approach than waiting until there are three weeks left into the election to actually care about them.
Black men deserve more than that.
This story was originally published October 16, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
