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    • In Georgia, black men are weighing the power of their vote
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    In Georgia, black men are weighing the power of their vote

    Online Niel Posted on

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    Both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris know that if they want to win Georgia, they must secure the Black vote. Black people make up the largest minority voting bloc in Georgia, accounting for about 30 percent of all registered voters in the swing state.

    Black men were instrumental in electing President Joe Biden. A total of 83% of black men in Georgia voted for Biden in 2020, Washington Post reported. Now, a week before the 2024 election, candidates cross the state to reach black men, with Harris working to maintain Democrats’ traditional edge in the demographic.

    More than 77 percent of black Georgians plan to vote for Harris, according to a recent poll POLL from the Atlanta Journal Constitution. That’s a jump from the 70 percent who supported Biden when asked in June, but still far less than the 90 percent of votes Biden received from black Georgians in 2020 elections.

    For months there have been rumblings among pollsters that black men may be leaving the Democratic Party, choosing instead to support Trump.

    Despite what some polls say, John Taylor believes “the reality is very different”.

    Taylor is the co-founder of the company Black Male Initiative Georgiaa nonprofit focused on the civic engagement of Black men in the Peach State. Through surveys and door-to-door events, his group had more than 195,000 conversations with black men this election cycle. The vast majority—about 83 percent—expressed their support for Harris.

    “I don’t think we’re any more inclined to vote for Trump,” Taylor says. “I think it’s an atrocious, racist trope to think that because Trump has 34 impeachments or his misogynistic behavior somehow endears him to black men. We are not who we are.” USA TODAY spoke to black men in the Georgia field to see where they stand on the Harris-Trump showdown.

    A house divided

    Josh Gossett, a 33-year-old small business owner in Atlanta, has seen this dynamic play out in his own family. Gossett voted early for Harris. His younger brother, Aaron, will vote for Trump this year.

    He believes his brother has finally been won over by Trump’s antagonistic attitude.

    “It’s not about politics,” Gossett tells USA TODAY. “For people like my brother, it’s really about opposition to the mainstream. They see Trump as an avatar for all the anger and frustrations they’ve had with the system.”

    Gossett believes the system has often “left behind” black men like himself and his brother, leaving them “underpaid and underemployed” in the modern workforce. These disparities in employment and financial opportunities then translate into frustrations at the polls.

    That’s when a politician like Trump comes in, fueling economic insecurities with anti-immigrant rhetoric.

    “If any group of people is vulnerable to the idea that immigrants are ‘stealing’ their jobs, it’s black men,” says Gossett.

    “Racism Got Really Bad Under Trump”

    Robert James is a 67-year-old driver who lives in a suburb of Atlanta. As he drives, he is inundated with constant reminders of the presidential election—on the radio, interstate billboards, and customers eager to discuss politics. Like many Americans, he’s excited for the election to be over.

    “I’m sick of seeing the commercials,” he sighs.

    But campaign ads aside, James knows this election is important, especially for black men. He fears racism will escalate under a second Trump presidency.

    “After Trump was elected, it reminded me of the days after 9/11,” says James. “Racism got really bad under Trump after he first got in there. It gave people permission to be racist.”

    As increase in hate crimes faced by Muslim, Arab, Sikh, and South Asian Americans following the 2001 terrorist attacks, violence against black Americans has skyrocketed since Trump’s election.

    Conformable a study by the Southern Poverty Law Center, there were 187 hate incidents committed against people of color in the first 10 days after the 2016 election. Some of these amounted to hate crimes.

    Facts like this make it even more disheartening for James to see other black people supporting Trump. “My question to them is: why? Why do you keep supporting this man? See what it’s like.”

    Harris’ plans for black men

    Thousands of people gathered to hear former first lady Michelle Obama speak at a rally Tuesday in College Park, just south of downtown. Many were bused in from Atlanta’s historically black colleges and universities, proudly wearing the colors of Harris’ sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha.

    But Laquann Wilson, a 27-year-old student at Alabama State University, traveled hours to attend the nonpartisan rally. Wilson says he’s open to “learning to work together” across political differences, but doesn’t identify strongly with either party.

    “At the end of the day, we all need jobs. The cost of gas is high for everyone. So if you can help me with better economic policy, I don’t care if you’re a Republican or a Democrat,” Wilson explains. “I just want a president who is wise and has clear policies for the black community.”

    Taylor, co-founder of the Black Male Initiative, believes Harris has the better policies for black men.

    He points towards her plan to offer loans that would forgive up to $20,000 for black entrepreneurs to start a business, as well as her goal to legalize marijuana so black people can access the booming, multi-billion dollar industry.

    But Taylor points out that it’s important to remember — especially when discussing the role of black men in elections — that the black vote doesn’t operate in a vacuum. “We have always been among the most progressive voting blocs in this country since the beginning. of our right to vote—despite the fact that we were drawn and splashed and splashed and killed on the way to the polls.”

    So while the black vote “is a powerful voice and a critical component,” Taylor says, it’s not just up to them to put a particular candidate in office.

    “If we don’t win, it’s not because not enough black men or women showed up. Because well-meaning white men and women didn’t consciously cast their votes. That will keep Vice President Kamala Harris in the White House. They are not brothers.”

    Melissa Cruz is an election reporting fellow focusing on voter access issues for the USA TODAY Network. You can reach her at [email protected] or on X, formerly Twitter, at @MelissaWrites22.

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