This is one of those issues that would take two books to address fully, and that might be enough. The alleged lack of support for Kamala Harris in her bid to become the 47th President of the United States by Black men is mainly imagined, but I’m not saying it has no basis in reality. Kamala Harris has the overwhelming support of Black men. A recent poll from Howard University found that, in swing states, eighty-eight percent of Black men over fifty and seventy-two percent of those younger say they will vote for her. You won’t find any other voting block with higher support for Harris except for Black women.
The media is constantly telling America Black men have a problem with Harris. PBS ran a story in August that, “Trump Is Gaining Ground with Some Black Men.” Mother Jones reported, “I Spent a Week with Black MAGA. Here’s What I Learned.” The New York Times wrote, “Black Men Rally for Kamala Harris and Confront an Elephant in the Room.” Donald Trump amplified the theme, saying, “I seem to be doing very well with Black males.” He isn’t.
An A.P.-NORC poll showed one in ten Black voters believe Trump would make things better for the country. Eight out of ten have a somewhat or very negative view of him. In 2016, Trump won 14% of Black male voters; in 2020, that number dropped to 12%. A recent NAACP poll showed Black male support for Trump at 13%. Little has changed in eight years except the hype surrounding it. The NAACP says that Black enthusiasm since Harris replaced Joe Biden on the ticket has risen above 2008 levels since Barack Obama won his first term. There is no issue generally with Black male support for Harris, but there is relative discontentment of Black men under 50. This group is less likely to vote than any other Black demographic.
The story is getting attention across the media for reasons I can onlyess at. One segment of the media has always tried to divide Black America with an added bonus of providing support to their candidate. By saying a thing often enough, they hope to make it true. The rest of the media has a bad case of FOMO (fear of missing out) and gives the story traction, and some Black men are willing to get in front of a camera or give a quote for reasons of their own. So who are these men?
We’ve arrived at the part that would take two books (thick ones) to address. Black men have been pitted against Black women since they arrived in America. Black men and Black women have faced different issues, which sometimes spill over into resentment. During slavery and well beyond, Black men haven’t been able to protect their women from rape and forced breeding. More recently, Black men have more often been the victims of mass incarceration while Black women bore the brunt of raising their children alone. There is a lingering trauma between Black men and women, which manifests itself in many ways, including competition.
Most opposition to Harris comes from a small segment of Black men who find issue against her record as a prosecutor in California. Some of their issues are real, and some are imagined. D.L. Hughley issued an apology at the DNC for his criticism “based on incomplete and inaccurate information.”
“I was wrong, and I am so very glad I was wrong, because Kamala you give me hope for the future.” — D.L. Hughley
Black men have reason to be disappointed with the Democratic Party in general, though turning to support Donald Trump and the Republican Party doesn’t seem like the answer. Democrats are a coalition of constituencies, and Black men seem near the bottom in terms of support.
When Biden followed up on his commitment to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court, Ketanji Brown Jackson, It was in recognition of the support Black women have provided the Democratic Party and that they have never had representation on the court. The only Black man remaining on the court was Clarence Thomas, appointed by a Republican. Thomas is less representative of Black men than anyone I can imagine.
It’s hard to gain recognition in a large party, and Black women of late are arguably more successful. The easier path for a Black man to achieve recognition is within the Republican Party, though they may have to sacrifice their community for individual gain.
Former President Barack Obama addressed the issue in a recent discussion with Black campaign workers:
We had not yet seen the same kinds of energy and turnout in all quarters of our neighborhoods and communities as we saw when I was running. Now, I also want to say that that seems to be more pronounced with the brothers. When I hear about this stuff, I start feeling like we don’t have enough of a sense of what’s at stake here. These are not ordinary times and these are not ordinary elections. — Barack Obama
He was discussing strategies with those who would be taking the message to the streets, not giving a lecture to Black men in a speech as has been suggested by some. Look closely at the affiliations of the loudest critics of Obama, both Black and white. That need to divide didn’t end with Jim Crow.
I’ve sat in on some Internet live conversations with Black people, mostly male, discussing whether Kamala Harris was really Black and assailing her for various things far less than others have done. Their motives seemed to range from conviction to self-aggrandization with a bit of misogyny thrown in. Some Black men find it impossible to vote for a woman, just as more white men feel similarly. At times, the groups sounded like their version of the He-Man Woman-Haters Club, which took the time to explain that they weren’t really sexist.
Obama’s comments to Pittsburgh campaign workers were heavily criticized by some and as a result, Harris has changed her campaign strategy towards Black men. She has announced a new agenda involving wealth-building and opportunity. The dividers are upset about that, as this is a no-win scenario. I view much of this as a distraction and am writing about it because someone asked my opinion. My bigger concern is the issues that divide Black men and women that I feel would take two books to address.
This post originally appeared on Medium and is edited and republished with author's permission. Read more of William Spivey's work on Medium. And if you dig his words, buy the man a coffee.