Nov 10, 2024 Story by: Editor
Generational Divide as Black Voters Navigate Shifts in Political Allegiances
A growing generational divide among African American men, a traditionally Democratic voter base, has led younger Black men to be drawn to Donald Trump’s promises of economic improvement. Meanwhile, older Black men have remained open to Kamala Harris, understanding the changing preferences of younger voters. As questions linger, the focus now is on whether Trump can fulfill his promises.
On the last Sunday before Election Day, crowds gathered around Detroit’s Greater Emmanuel Institutional Church of God in Christ, maneuvering past secret service and police vehicles, hoping to see a special guest arriving for the service.
Vice President Kamala Harris had chosen this historic Black church at Schaefer and Seven Mile Roads as her place of worship just days before the November 5 polls, and her visit created a buzz throughout the neighborhood.
However, that excitement faded following a heavy electoral defeat for the Kamala Harris-Tim Walz ticket in the 2024 election.
On a crisp, sunny morning just days after the Democratic loss, the pre-election fervor in this mostly African American neighborhood turned quiet.
A discarded “Harris-Walz” flyer hung from a garbage can near the church’s parking lot. Traffic lights shifted for a few passing cars, and an “Open” sign at a nearby diner fluttered with no patrons in sight.
Danny Taylor, a 65-year-old laborer waiting for the No. 7 bus, expressed his disappointment at Harris’s loss, saying, “I’m disappointed she lost, ain’t nothin’ you can do about it.”
Christopher Evans, a 36-year-old cook at a luxury hotel in Detroit, was more optimistic after Trump’s win, saying, “I’m not upset about it, you know. I’m just hoping that President Trump can do what he needs to do to help us improve our system and improve our economy.” Evans, without revealing his vote, implied he was ready for change after the Biden-Harris administration.
“I just wanted to see different people in the position. I don’t want to see the same people that did the last four years,” Evans said.
Discontentment Among Black Men
When President Joe Biden stepped aside, making way for Harris as the Democratic candidate, many assumed she would secure the Black vote. The Democratic Party has long championed racial equality, giving the U.S. its first Black president, Barack Obama, and was often seen as the opposite of the Republican party’s dominance by white men.
But polls leading up to the election revealed that Harris’s support among young Black men had waned, with some analysts attributing it to lingering misogyny. Attempting to address this, Obama took a direct approach, telling “the brothers” in Pennsylvania, “I’m speaking to men directly – part of it makes me think that, well, you just aren’t feeling the idea of having a woman as president, and you’re coming up with other alternatives and other reasons for that.”
His comments drew criticism from some Black men, who felt they were being “lectured” and “belittled” by the former president.
Rashawn Ray and Keon Gilbert of the Brookings Institute noted in their report, Why Are Black Men Mad at Obama, that Black men consistently vote for reproductive rights more than men from other racial groups. However, they said the “biggest” issue driving dissatisfaction was that “many Black men feel left out and forgotten by the Democratic Party. They are tired of feeling as if their voice is not heard or that they only matter on issues of policing and criminal justice reform.”
A Shift to Trump: ‘The Reason Why I Voted for Trump’
Early analyses of the 2024 election results confirmed the polling predictions. While white voting patterns remained largely unchanged from 2020, Trump managed to double his share of young Black male voters in 2024, with three out of 10 Black men under 45 supporting him—approximately double his 2020 performance.
Trump’s campaign success with Black and Latino voters, amid his record of anti-immigrant and racially charged rhetoric, has surprised many. But with the rising cost of living, Trump’s promises resonated with many low-paid and unemployed Black and Latino individuals.
“I’m neither a Republican nor Democrat, but I go by common sense. And that’s the reason why I voted for Trump,” said Shawn Harris, an unemployed security guard awaiting disability benefits after a medical crisis earlier in the year. “When I see people who can come [to the US] from anywhere with no documentation got it better off than me and my ethnic group, and my ethnic group historically has built this country… I got a problem with it. That’s something that doesn’t work for me at all,” Harris said.
Finding Common Ground
Older Black men who run small businesses have expressed understanding toward their younger counterparts’ frustrations.
“As an entrepreneur, we have to make every dollar that is brought through the business,” said F-Alan Young, a 52-year-old business owner who voted for Harris. “Here in Detroit, you have two different types of people. You got the factory people, the professionals. And you have the entrepreneurs, very micro-businesses. And so, you know, we get along just fine.”
While Young cast his vote for Harris, he’s not overly concerned about Trump’s return to the White House. “Eight years ago, we thought the world was going to come down when Trump was elected president. It didn’t,” he said. “We as a people, we are the people. We’re bigger than the presidency as a whole, together. I think there are ways that we’ll be able to work together and figure it out. So I’m not overly concerned.”
At God’s World, a religious bookstore across from Greater Emmanuel, 76-year-old Larry Robinson said he voted for Harris. “I was hoping she would win, but now that it did not happen, I embrace the new president. I embrace and try to pray for him, that he’ll be a good president.”
Robinson has witnessed Detroit’s ups and downs over the decades. In recent years, he has seen some positive changes. “It’s starting to change back,” Robinson said. “I see more and more people coming back to Detroit, and I see people working together more, and I see people tolerate each other’s differences more.”
While some remain apprehensive about another Trump presidency, Robinson’s faith in his country and community remains firm. “I have a T-shirt here that says, ‘No matter who’s president. Jesus is Lord’,” he said, proudly displaying one of his favorite items in the shop.
Reflecting on decades of political change, Robinson added, “I’ve come to realize, in my old age, now that me and my family, my network, we have to look out for ourselves. You’ve had Republicans get in office. Some did a great job, some didn’t. You have Democrats that got in office, some did a great job, some didn’t. But the bottom line is what you and your people do for yourself. I have to focus on that. If they line up, I work with them. If they don’t, I pray for them. And keep going. That’s my philosophy.” Source: France 24
