Coalition including NAACP and National Urban League rally Black men to vote as organizations confront midterm turnout gap
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Organizers say the inaugural National Black Man Voter Day is about building political power beyond a single election.
Organizations across the country, including the National Urban League and the NAACP, are rallying Black men to the polls ahead of the midterm election.
The coalition, which includes 100 Black Men of America, Black Men Vote, Woke Vote, and the aforementioned Urban League and NAACP, has initiated the inaugural National Black Man Voter Day, which will take place on Saturday (Oct. 24). The goal is to mobilize more than 100,000 Black men by bringing together faith leaders, fraternity members, students and local organizers for “coordinated civic engagement activities, community conversations and group voting activations where early voting is available.”
Some Black men online have vocalized that most conversations regarding voting and the Black community have been made to demonize them, particularly after the 2024 presidential election. While statistics showed that Black men largely supported Vice President Kamala Harris over Donald Trump, Trump gained more Black voters overall than he had in the 2016 or 2020 elections.
According to research conducted by the Pew Center, one in ten Black women voted for Trump in 2024, while nearly 21 percent of Black men voted for Trump as he reassumed the White House.
NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson says the initiative isn’t just about the midterms but about future elections.
“This midterm election is a critical turning point for our community and our democracy,” he said. “For many generations, Black men have fought to secure access to the ballot. Today, we wield our collective power and make our voices heard from the bottom of the ballot to the top. National Black Man Voter Day is about more than an election–this is about protecting our future and refusing to ever be silenced.”
National Urban League President and CEO Marc. H. Morial added, “When Black men vote, we are not simply casting ballots. We are claiming our power to shape the future of our families, our communities and our nation. National Black Man Voter Day is about turning that power into action. We are calling on Black men across America to make a plan, bring a brother with them, and show up in force. Our voices matter, our votes matter, and when we move together, we can move this nation forward.”
The initiative arrives days after an MS NOW report revealed the stark number of Black Ohioians who are eligible to vote that sat out the 2022 midterm elections and the apathy of Black male voters in the region. The Ohio Black Legislative Caucus released a study in June that revealed more than 600,000 eligible Black voters had sat out those midterms, enough to be the second biggest city in the state.
In Texas, a number of first time Black voters are gearing up. A 27-year-old Black man said earlier this month that the upcoming election would be the first he’s voting in.
“I come from a community that doesn’t know much about voting. We really don’t care,” Javon Daniels told EL PAÍS in regard to his native Third Ward. “A lot of Black people in my community don’t take voting seriously because we feel it doesn’t make a difference in our lives.”
Daniels said he was voting for James Talarico in the upcoming Senate race against Ken Paxton and understands the power voting has.
“It will take a lot of work,” he says about changing the perception of casting a ballot in his community, “but we have to keep fighting to make sure our voice is heard. Voting gives us a voice.”