By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris launched an aggressive campaign to engage Black voters during a visit to Philadelphia on Wednesday. They pledged significant investments in Black student organizations, community groups, and faith centers across the country. Despite a rocky start with Black-owned media outlets, the event aimed to solidify their support among Black Americans for the 2024 election.
In a rare dual event, Biden and Harris highlighted Black voters’ crucial role in their 2020 victory and vowed to prevent former President Donald Trump from reclaiming the White House. “Because Black Americans voted in 2020, Kamala and I are president and vice president of the United States. Because you voted, Donald Trump is the defeated former president,” Biden declared. “With your vote in 2024, we’re going to make Donald Trump a loser again.”
Harris echoed that sentiment. “In 2020, Black voters in Philadelphia and across our nation helped President Biden and me win the White House,” she asserted. “Yes, you did. And in 2024, with your voice and your power, we will win again.”
Biden outlined his administration’s achievements in promoting racial equality, including appointing Ketanji Brown Jackson as the first Black Supreme Court Justice, appointing more Black women to federal circuit courts than all previous presidents combined, maintaining low unemployment rates, reducing the racial wealth gap, addressing housing appraisal disparities, removing lead pipes, increasing access to affordable high-speed internet, and expanding Obamacare.
Reflecting on the COVID-19 pandemic, Biden reminded the audience of the administration’s efforts to manage the crisis, contrasting it with Trump’s handling. “When I came to office, I promised we’d do everything we can to get us through that pandemic,” Biden noted. “And that’s what we did. That, folks, was a promise made and a promise kept.”
Harris also emphasized the administration’s healthcare achievements, such as lowering the cost of insulin for seniors to $35 a month and giving Medicare the power to negotiate drug prices. She addressed efforts to tackle student debt, noting that over $65 billion was forgiven for roughly 5 million Americans, including nurses, firefighters, and teachers, despite a Supreme Court setback.
The Philadelphia stops, including a visit to Girard College and a meeting with the Black Chamber of Commerce, marked the beginning of an eight-figure, summer-long initiative to engage Black voters. The effort includes substantial investments in advertising, engagement efforts, and culturally competent content.
However, the Biden-Harris campaign faced criticism for not prioritizing Black-owned media in their outreach strategy. Roland Martin, a prominent figure in Black media, reported being blindsided by the event’s coverage, first reported by The Washington Post. Martin, whose network Roland Martin Unfiltered remains highly influential, later aired a live stream of the visit.
Biden’s support among Black voters has shown signs of erosion, with approval ratings dropping from 94% at the start of his term to 55%, according to an AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll published in March. Black-owned media have been awaiting partnerships with the Biden-Harris campaign for outreach and advertising, which are crucial for engaging Black voters, particularly those feeling isolated or undecided.
“Our campaign believes that Black voters deserve to hear from Team Biden-Harris, and they deserve to have their vote earned, not assumed,” the campaign stated.
