Kamala Harris Aims To Reach Black Men With Voter Engagement Events

Vice President Kamala Harris ’ campaign hosted a slew of events targeting Black men in Wisconsin this past week, part of an effort to drive turnout and prevent defections among a key voting bloc.

On Friday, former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes led a rally at a major Black church in Milwaukee, before the campaign launched a canvas, gave out free haircuts at barbershops and hosted a happy hour for young professionals, wrapping everything up with a gospel brunch on Sunday.

The events illustrate how Democrats are increasingly targeting Black men, aiming both to counteract former President Donald Trump’s efforts to woo them with machismo and social conservatism, and to try to ensure that apathy brought on by years of inflation and low approval for President Joe Biden won’t result in low turnout.

The efforts are not limited to Wisconsin. In Michigan, a key state in the 2024 election, the Harris-Walz campaign has held more than 15 events since she announced her bid for president. The events have included barbershop visits and brunch events in cities like Detroit and Flint.

The campaign has hosted 10 organizing events in Black barbershops across Georgia, where Trump drew 11% of the Black vote in 2020 . It’s also held events in Virginia and Pennsylvania, including a debate day event at a barbershop with local elected officials.

Actor Wendell Pierce, Ald. Sharlen Moore, Gee’s Barbershop owner Gaulien “Gee” Smith, and community member Kwabena Nixon host a panel at a Milwaukee barbershop.

“From the moment Vice President Harris launched her campaign, we have hit the ground running to earn every single vote, including from Black men who we know will play a pivotal role in this election,” Trey Baker, a senior adviser for the Harris-Walz campaign, told HuffPost.

“Whether it’s having campaign officials join the #WinWithBlackMen call which raised over seven figures for the Harris-Walz ticket all while working to combat disinformation being targeted at Black men, to hosting genuine engagement events across battleground states, we are working day in and day out to earn Black men’s vote,” he continued.

Black voters, and Black men in particular, have consistently shown up for the Democratic Party for years. But large swaths of Black men have long felt their voices and needs haven’t been heard or addressed. Republicans have worked to draw this key constituency away with voter outreach efforts of their own.

Those efforts are often undermined by former President Donald Trump’s own frequent invocation of stereotypes about Black people. In February, Trump said that Black Americans support him because they can relate to the “discrimination” he’s faced in the legal system .

A recent Washington Post-Ipsos poll found that Harris is enjoying strong support among Black men, but the race is still extremely tight in the states she needs to win . Baker, who headed up similar Black voter engagement events under Biden during the 2020 election, is working to ensure that Black men are being engaged by the Harris-Walz campaign.

“We will not take it for granted or offensively patronize the community like Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans continue to,” he said.