How Kamala Harris is trying to get black voters back on Biden’s side by targeting ‘young brothers’ in the campaign and inviting them to ‘extraordinary gentlemen’ dinners

President Joe Biden’s campaign is sending Vice President Kamala Harris to help rebuild their support among Black voters in key swing states as polls show fewer African-American men are interested in backing them for re-election.

Billed as a “Nationwide Economic Opportunity Tour,” Harris is specifically targeting urban communities to have more conversations with Black business leaders about all the government has done for them.

“I decided I wanted to get away, get out of D.C. and get out into the neighborhood, into the community,” Harris said in an interview with activist Al Sharpton to preview her efforts.

During the interview, she selected black men as an audience with whom she wanted to talk directly.

“In particular, I have some great young brothers who are very successful in business and I will talk to them about their story and what our policies can do to support people like them,” she said.

The Biden-Harris campaign is well aware of the difficulty of retaining the support of black men. A group of prominent black men were Democrats invited to the White House in December to discuss the problem with Biden aides.

A recent Wall Street Journal poll in seven swing states from April showed that as many as 30 percent of black men are considering voting for Trump over Biden, raising additional alarm bells for the campaign.

Harris is uniquely interested in courting black men in business, politics and culture, like CNN reported behind the scenes she organizes what she describes as ‘extraordinary men’s dinners’.

But she denied during an interview with CNN that the campaign had a specific demographic problem.

‘I do not agree with it. And it’s not my experience. It’s literally not my experience,” Harris said when asked if she had any concerns about the campaign being linked to Black men.

“If you think about the issues that are important, I will tell you based on my own political and personal experiences that I disagree with the premise,” she added.

But as the election approaches, Harris is paying more attention to black media figures and black audiences.

Last week in Atlanta, Harris appeared to talk about small businesses with podcasting duo Rashad Bilal and Troy Millings, who focus on financial literacy.

“I mix up the word entrepreneur and small business,” she laughed. “I think depending on the generation, someone considers themselves an entrepreneur – in terms of younger small businesses, but it’s all entrepreneurship, right?”

As opposition to diversity, equity and inclusion programs emerged during this election cycle, Harris vowed to fight for the concept during her conversation.

“Despite those who want to attack DEI in certain parts of our country, we understand that you cannot truly invest in the strength of our nation without addressing diversity, equity and inclusion,” Harris said. .

In Detroit, Harris pulled out all the stops as she met business leaders such as Wole Coaxum, CEO of Mobility Capital Finance, president and CEO of Black Chambers, Inc. (USBC), and Ron Busby Sr. welcomed for its economic opportunity event.

Harris invited the Cass Technology High School marching band to perform ahead of her event before parading government officials on stage to promote their agenda for Black communities.

Acting Secretary Julie Su, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Small Business Dilawar Syed, U.S. Secretary of Energy Granholm and Deputy Commerce Secretary Don Graves appeared at the event to defend the Biden administration’s efforts.

Harris traveled to Detroit with a full press of influential black media figures, some of whom were given seats on Air Force 2 for the trip.

Nehemiah D. Frank, the founder and editor-in-chief of The Black Wall Street Times and Roland Martin connected her on the run.

After making headlines for grinning and shouting “shrimp and grits” at reporters shouting questions about Gaza as she left a restaurant, Harris brought the group of journalists together for a mini-briefing.

She revealed that she had listened to a phone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu that morning.

“We’re keeping a close eye on what’s happening on the ground and my team is keeping me informed, and I don’t have anything else at the moment, but I’ll keep you all informed if I have anything,” she said matter-of-factly.

When reporters boarded the plane again, they found a special surprise from the vice president: dinner at the same restaurant they visited earlier in the day.

“Thank you for the soul food,” Frank wrote, “the food was so delicious; I couldn’t get enough of it.’

Harris is no stranger to the strategy. In 2019, when she first ran for president, Harris used the power of Black media figures to earn respect from their audiences.

Harris took Breakfast Club host Charlemagne tha God on the campaign trail in South Carolina in 2019 to talk about the importance of mental health as she ran for president.

But Charlemagne is in the vice president’s rearview mirror after a 2021 interview in which Harris and her press secretary tried to cut short an interview when things got heated.

Charlemagne thinks the same way.

“I learned my lesson from that,” he told Politico in January, expressing regret for his support of Harris and Biden. “Once they got to the White House, she… kind of disappeared.”