ATLANTA (AP) — Every Monday evening, the Andrew and Walter Young Family YMCA basement becomes a sanctuary for men who, local leaders say, have too often been denied one.
The Black Man Lab, which for nearly a decade has sought weekly to create a “safe, sacred and healing space” for Black men in metropolitan Atlanta, regularly gathers more than 100 men to pray, meditate and talk through challenges and triumphs they are facing and learn from peers and elders.
“It’s almost a communion,” said Carttrell Coleman, a visual artist from South Fulton, Georgia, who has attended the weekly meetings for seven years. “It’s an opportunity for us to share our voices and get resources. The networking is always a good thing. It’s a fellowship, of sorts.”
One recent meeting in the immediate aftermath of President Joe Biden’s suspension of his reelection campaign took on special weight as attendees considered the prospect of a Black woman winning the presidency. The candidacy of Vice President Kamala Harris has refocused attention on Black men, a demographic that Democrats and Republicans view as persuadable but whose multifaceted experiences and political preferences often go unaddressed in public debate.
Harris’ campaign has also reignited discussions amongst Black men about their influence in this election.
“Black men are the target, and we hold the keys to the kingdom. This is our moment,” said Lance Robertson, executive director of the Black City Councilmen of Georgia, during the meeting. “The Black man has built America. Now it’s time for the Black man to save America.”
Black male voters are traditionally one of the most consistently Democratic leaning demographics in the nation. This year, however, both major parties view Black men, especially those under the age of 40, as attainable voters. Whether Black men turn out in high numbers and to what degree they maintain traditional support for Democratic candidates may prove decisive in November.
“To be frank, I think early on in this process a lot of Black men viewed this election with much skepticism and dread,” said Bishop Reginald Jackson, who presides over all 534 African Methodist Episcopal churches in Georgia. “But since the change in the Democratic ticket, there has been a turnaround. I think they feel they have something that they can support. I think a lot of issues which made a lot of them skeptical are being addressed.”
At the Black Man Lab event, the men present came from all walks of life. Attendees' ages ranged from 8 to 86, with multiple pairings of fathers, grandfathers and grandsons telling the group about the unique circumstances each generation faces as Black men in America.
Black voters have historically prioritized policies on civil rights and economic mobility, leading to overwhelming support for Democrats.
But how those concerns translate into political preferences has shifted as traditional ties to institutions like the Black church have frayed for some younger Black Americans. “The Black church, in a lot of respects, has been a turnoff for the Black man, and we’re only now working to address the need and correct it,” Jackson said.
For many younger Black men, advocates stressed, issues like wealth creation, entrepreneurship, police reform and anti-discrimination policies in the workplace are top of mind.
“We want to see jobs and opportunity for Black men, especially,” said Andre Greenwood, chair of the YMCA that hosts the Black Man Lab event. Greenwood, who supports Harris, said economic messages will be most important to Black male voters.
Harris' entrance into the presidential race has unleashed a flurry of organizing among her Black male allies. A day after Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris, a virtual conference tailored for Black men garnered more than 53,000 attendees and raised more than $1.3 million. The event, organized by Win With Black Men, a collective of Black male-led groups, has hosted regular meetings every week since then to engage organizers targeting Black men.
“Up until this point, these folks were not really engaged with this campaign season, let alone volunteering for outside organizations. I think what we’re seeing now is a massive level of organic energy that you can't deny,” said Quentin James, founder of the Collective PAC, a Democratic political action committee that supports Black candidates.
Win With Black Men said it would direct the raised funds to organizations nationwide for Black male engagement. More than 150 groups have applied for support. James stressed that while the recent fundraising windfall is notable, the Harris campaign's own engagement effort with Black men may not be enough unless it is paired with robustly funded outside groups that have longstanding trust in local communities.
Harris has also revamped her outreach to Black men. The campaign believes it has a winning message for Black men's priorities.
“It’s wealth and it’s health,” Democratic strategist Antjuan Seawright said of the message.
Seawright leads the Democratic National Committee's “Chop It Up” town halls for Black men at barbershops and other venues in battleground states this year. He noted that Black men “aren’t monolithic” and added that it is a mistake for campaigns to assume “we only care about criminal justice reform.”
The culminating effort also aims to address longstanding skepticism among many Black men about the political system, which is seen as discriminatory and unresponsive to their interests. Others have tackled potential hesitancy among men about electing a woman to the nation’s highest office.
Republicans, too, see an opportunity to make inroads with Black men precisely because of those longstanding frustrations. Donald Trump often speaks of his interest in garnering greater Black voter support. Black Republicans, including Reps. Byron Donalds of Florida and Wesley Hunt of Texas, have hosted a “Congress, Cognac, and Cigars” event series in cities including Atlanta, Philadelphia and Milwaukee.
“Black men have been taken for granted by the Democratic Party for years, but President Trump’s message is resonating at historic levels because he is doing the work," said Janiyah Thomas, Black media director for the Trump campaign.
Marcus Robinson, a senior spokesperson for the Democratic National Committee, called Republican outreach strategy “hot air, racially charged rhetoric and offensive stereotypes, from questioning Vice President Harris’s identity to claiming Black voters should relate to Trump because he is a convicted felon.”
For many attendees at the Black Man Lab event, the reinvigorated presidential race is an opportunity to make sure their interests are addressed at the highest levels of government.
“I was in the street doing wild stuff and this saved my life,” said Damon Bod, an exterior house technician from Atlanta, of his experience with the Black Man Lab event. Bod said he lost his entire immediate family to violence and that the event provided him counsel and a community.
He said he would support Harris in the election because the men who supported him felt she would advance Black men's interests.
“I've been looking at it and hopefully she'll do a bit of good. My brothers have said she will, people who know me. But only God knows,” Bod said.
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