DETROIT (Michigan News Source) – Kamala Harris’s campaign has Michigan, and Detroit in particular, in its crosshairs, hoping to rouse Black voters, especially Black men, into action. She’s even trotted out an “Opportunity Agenda for Black Men,” promising to boost loans, small business opportunities, and even homeownership. Harris claims she’s focused on addressing disparities, pledging a bold $25,000 down-payment support for first-time home buyers and one million forgivable loans to boost Black entrepreneurship.

But is it enough? For many Detroiters, it’s déjà vu with another list of promises by politicians that rarely materialize. While Vice President Harris talks a big game about Black communities benefiting under her leadership, for voters like Malik Shelton, these promises feel like recycled political rhetoric. He doesn’t see anything changing no matter who wins the presidency saying to the Detroit News, “I just think everything’s just going to go downhill.”

Expectations for November 5th vs. elections of the past.

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Support among Black voters for Kamala Harris has proven to be a complex challenge for Democratic operatives. Organizations like Black Voters Matter, Black Church PAC, and the National Action Network have been mobilizing to boost enthusiasm, especially among Black men – a demographic that once rallied behind Barack Obama but now appears more hesitant. Polls show Black men supporting Harris less than Black women, raising concerns about turnout in critical urban areas like Detroit, where Democrats count on Black voters to counterbalance Republican support in suburbs and rural zones.

Michigan’s substantial Black population, around 14% of the state, plays a crucial role in elections. In 2020, Black voters accounted for roughly 10.3% of Michigan’s ballots, yet turnout among eligible Black voters was notably lower than among White, non-Latino voters. Recent polls indicate that young Black men, especially those under 45, are shifting toward Trump because of policies on border control and community-focused federal spending.

This shifting support is significant as Trump continues to narrow the margin in Detroit, a vital area for Democrats, by gaining Black votes over recent election cycles. NAACP October polling shows that 21% of black male voters nationwide support Donald Trump.

Trump’s play for Detroit’s loyalty.

Janiyah Thomas, Team Trump’s Black media director, is talking up their efforts to “deliver results for Black families,” citing inflation and job security as top issues.

Trump’s Detroit rallies have him positioning himself as the only one to “fix” what he says are Harris’s messes. Trump promises a “real comeback” for Detroit, even saying, “You’re going to have a mess on your hands,” if Harris wins.

Thomas says about the outreach to the Black community, “We understand that Black men are not just voters; they are community leaders and providers for their families. Our outreach is about understanding their needs firsthand and delivering real solutions that matter.”

Disillusioned voters unsure of which candidate will better represent them.

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Despite grassroots groups pounding the pavement to mobilize the city’s Black population, voter disillusionment looms large.

For some, it’s not a matter of candidate charisma or policy specifics but of trust. As Bishop Edgar Vann II, senior pastor and CEO of Second Ebenezer Church in Detroit and a member of voter engagement group Black Church PAC puts it, “I think people are sophisticated enough now to understand that they don’t just respond to identity politics. They just don’t respond to ‘I’m a Black person, I’m supposed to vote for a Black person.’ I think it’s deeper than that, and I’m glad that it’s deeper than that. It’s a person understanding that voting is about a common interest: ‘What interest do I have that the candidate is speaking to?’”

Trump support.

Pastor Lorenzo Sewell of Detroit’s 180 Church recently urged fellow Black faith leaders to support Trump, telling a crowd of local Black voters that he backs the former president. Sewell, from east Detroit, believes Black residents saw better outcomes under Trump and is concerned about election integrity, an issue he feels only Trump has effectively addressed. He also criticized past efforts by Harris and Obama, saying they did not financially benefit Black men in Detroit and pointing to Detroit’s reputation as one of the “neediest cities” in the country.

Surrogates pitch in for Harris.

At the end of the day, Harris’s hopes for a Michigan win ride heavily on Detroit – and the Black vote in the state. That’s why campaign surrogates like civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton, who founded the National Action Network, was at a Michigan “Get Out the Vote” (GOTV) event last week with stops in Flint, Pontiac, Detroit and Ann Arbor. In a statement about his support of Harris, Sharpton said, “Voting rights, reproductive health, economic opportunity, educational access, and other hard-won rights for our communities are at their greatest risk in generations, which is why we must paint the polls Black on November 5th.”

On Halloween, Michigan Democratic Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist II was at a GOTV event in Flint stumping for Harris and trying to convince Black voters to go to the polls for her, encouraging them to vote early, by mail or in person. He spotlighted the Harris Opportunity Agenda for Black men and erroneously linked Trump the 2025 Project saying it would cost them money and reduce their health care access.

Gilchrist, who was at the event with Flint’s Mayor, Sheldon Neeley, said, “Only one of the tickets in this election is offering direct support to Black entrepreneurs in the form of forgivable loans to make sure your business has a chance, that you have more capital to start it in the first place. There’s only one choice…Black men, truthfully, have never been the problem. We have always been part of a solution, and for us, winning in our communities – not only does Flint need us, not only does Michigan need us, not only does America need us – the whole world needs us to show up and stand tall in the way that I know we all can.”

Obama’s push to get Black votes for Harris.

Former President Barack Obama has also been stepping in to rally Black voters as the election nears. The organization “Win With Black Men” shared a video of him where he said, “The most credible messengers for this campaign in these closing days, hours, minutes, is going to be all of you. You talking to your friends, relatives, people in your communities, your co-workers, your ability to speak to them in ‘real talk’ about what’s at stake and why this is so important, um, is going to make all the

difference. And if you all do that, I promise you, Kamala Harris is going to be the next president of the United States and we can build on the progress that we’ve already made and look forward to a much brighter future.”

With Black voters being courted by both sides, but it’s anyone’s guess which promises will matter most to a group that has felt repeatedly shortchanged by political promises.