Biden and Harris Make New Push to Strengthen Support From Black Voters

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are traveling to Philadelphia on Wednesday to announce the rollout of a new coalition aimed at bolstering support from Black voters, who are vital to their reelection but have broadcast frustration with the president in a series of polls.

The president and vice president will unveil the effort, Black Voters for Biden-Harris, during a rally at Girard College, a predominantly Black college preparatory school in Philadelphia. They will be joined by several prominent Black Democrats, including Lt. Gov. Austin Davis of Pennsylvania, Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland and Mayor Cherelle Parker of Philadelphia.

After the rally, dozens of Black leaders will embark on a nationwide “week of action” to mobilize Black voters in battleground states, according to the Biden campaign. The campaign also says it plans to team up with national groups to hold events, recruit surrogates and speak directly to Black communities.

The event is only the latest attempt by the Biden campaign to win back support from Black voters, who have long been known as the “backbone” of the Democratic Party.

This month, Biden delivered the commencement address at Morehouse College, a historically Black men’s college in Atlanta, and then flew to Detroit to speak at the largest NAACP dinner in the nation. Last week, Harris spoke in Philadelphia at a convention of the Service Employees International Union, one of the country’s most diverse labor unions.

The Biden campaign also released a television ad last week that was geared toward Black voters in battleground states and that accused former President Donald Trump of having “stood with violent white supremacists.”

But even in Philadelphia — a city that Biden visits more than any other, to the consternation of some Pennsylvania Democrats — Black voters have expressed skepticism of the president. In recent interviews with The New York Times, many said they were worried about the cost of living and immigration and that they thought Biden was doing more to address foreign wars than domestic problems.

Trump, who has often relied on stereotypes to appeal to Black voters, tried to capitalize on their disaffection during a rally in New York City last Thursday, when he appeared with rappers Sheff G and Sleepy Hallow, who have been charged with violent gang-related crimes. Biden’s campaign is aiming to counter Black voters’ dissatisfaction and blunt any momentum Republicans hope to garner as a result of it.

In a statement, Quentin Fulks, the president’s principal deputy campaign manager, described the efforts as “the next phase of our campaign’s ongoing historic investments in outreach” to Black voters.

“While we are busy putting in the work to earn Black America’s support, Donald Trump continues to show just how ignorant he is,” he said. “Hosting janky rap concerts to hide the fact that he lacks the resources and competence to genuinely engage our community.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times .