Vice President Kamala Harris could become first woman, first Indian American and second Black president.
Baseball Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson once said something to the effect of why should the Democratic Party do anything for the Black community when they know that will automatically get their vote?
Likewise, why would the Republican Party do anything for the Black community when they know they will not get the Black vote?
But with an extremely close presidential race, Vice President Kamala Harris has made a pitch to the Black male vote as some polls show the Republicans slowly peeling away the Black male vote.
Vice President Harris’ agenda for Black men includes giving one million forgivable loans of up to $20,000 to Black business owners; starting an apprenticeship program to train more Black male teachers, student debt loan forgiveness that has begun under the administration of President Joe Biden and capping insulin costs at $35 per month for all Americans.
Harris also aims to decriminalizing marijuana.
Many Black men are incarcerated on petty drug offenses, which adversely affects them getting a job or housing when they get released.
On social media, the Harris campaign criticized some of former President Donald Trump’s policies that they believe hurt Black Americans.
The Kamala Harris Headquarters social media platform claims that Trump will end Small Business Administration direct lending; eliminate the Department of Education, which would cut funding to public schools; cut Title I funding, which would hurt 70 percent of Black students from kindergarten to 12th grade and eliminate health care for over three million Black Americans.
Many critics of Trump have lambasted him for his attempts to appeal to Black voters by bragging about his criminal mugshot, selling sneakers and selling jewelry.
However, many Black supporters of Trump credit him for prison reform.
The prison system has been used for years to enslave and disenfranchise Black people, especially men.
However, Trump has faced more criticism on the campaign trail for claiming that Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio were stealing and eating pets, while saying that migrants were poisoning the blood of America.
Trump has questioned the racial identity of Harris, falsely claiming that she only recently began embracing her Black heritage.
Harris has consistently embraced her Black and Indian heritage.
Additionally, she attended a historically Black college (Howard University in Washington, D.C.) and joined a predominantly Black sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
Furthermore, he criticized Detroit, a city with a large Black population.
And he said that Hispanics and Black Americans that support Harris should have their head examined.
Despite some controversial statements, Trump does have the support of some Black celebrities like former Pittsburgh Steelers stars Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell.
The latter, Bell, received much criticism on social media from many in the Black community for appearing before a Trump rally in Pennsylvania wearing a t-shirt that read, “Trump or the Tramp.”
Many like sports reporter Jemele Hill said that while Bell can vote for any candidate he pleases, he does not have to slander a Black woman to do so.
While Trump has the support of Bell and Brown in crucial Pennsylvania, he does not have the support of former Steelers legends like Jerome Bettis, “Mean” Joe Greene or the family of the late Franco Harris, who all support Harris.
Furthermore, Bettis implored the former president to know when he is washed up and ready for retirement.
ESPN sports analyst Ryan Clark, who also starred for the Steelers also appeared to criticize Bell’s t-shirt by comparing him and Brown to Hall of Fame Steelers like Bettis, Greene and Harris.
Other celebrities have noted that although Bell called Harris a tramp, he has seven children by six different women, while Trump also has children with multiple women.
Furthermore, Trump has been found liable for sexual assault.
Nevertheless, Harris too has garnered the endorsement of several celebrity Black Americans like Usher, Common and Lizzo.
On Instagram, actors Tasha Smith and Michael Jai White celebrated the fact that they had cast their early ballots for the current vice president.
Despite the celebrity endorsements and the history she would make if elected as the first woman president and second Black president, the HBCU graduate knows she must court the Black male vote like she would court the vote of any other demographic.
She told listeners of “The Breakfast Club” radio show that she must earn the Black male vote, especially with some polls showing Trump making inroads with that group.
Although many voters would like the election to be about the future of this country and not past grievances, Trump has found it hard to shake his checkered past with the Black community.
The Exonerated Five recently sued the former president for defamation based on the false claims he made about them during Trump’s only debate with Harris.
The group formerly known as the Central Park Five went to prison as teenagers for an assault of a White woman that they did not commit.
During the racially-charged controversy, Trump took out a newspaper advertisement calling for the reinstatement of the death penalty in New York as punishment for the teenage Black and Hispanic boys.
Even when the real criminal confessed to the assault, Trump has refused to apologize to the five men.
Regardless of who wins the Black male vote, it seems that Black men know their political power, which could lead to programs and initiatives that have a more positive impact on the Black community, regardless of what party is in power.
And that is something that Robinson advocated for over 50 years ago.
