Black Men Vote on the 2024 election: "We will be the difference makers"
On the final weekend before Election Day, Vice President Kamala Harria and former President Donald Trump are ramping up their last-minute pitch to sway votes, with both parties trying to encourage Black men. The nonpartisan group, Black Men Vote, spoke with CBS News Philadelphia about their plans to get voters to the polls.
"We will be the difference makers in this election," Black Men Vote executive director Joe Paul said.
Paul says candidates are targeting Black men, especially the Harris/Walz campaign, with the vice president's agenda.
"It's not as comprehensive as we would like," Paul said. "It's a good start, and it shows that candidates and parties are paying more attention to Black men. Before then, the conversation was more around, 'Hey, get out to vote, we need your vote, we need your vote.' But never around here's what we're willing to do for that vote."
Most recently, Black Men Vote rode through the city of Philadelphia, educating the community about the importance of this election.
"If every Philadelphia voter came out and voted one way or another, it wouldn't matter what the rest of Pennsylvania did," Miller said.
Billy Miller, a Philadelphia native and state director of Black Men Vote, says there is a lot of misinformation regarding the minority vote.
"I'm seeing brothers and sisters actually working together," Miller said. "You kind of hear rumors that there's a backlash of brothers in this elections and folks are going one way or another."
His team has been going door to door talking to voters.
"Brothers are upset about poverty, upset lack of opportunities," Miller said, "and the Black agenda for Black men involves a lot more than just criminal reform."
Miller says that on Election Day, Black Men Vote will post up on Ogontz Avenue in Northwest Philadelphia with the historically Black sorority Delta Sigma Theta to ensure everyone gets to the polls.
Paul said your civic duty is not over if you've already mailed your ballot.
"Now go back and make sure everyone who is in your ecosystem has also voted or has a plan to vote," Paul said.
