Biden officials launch push to court Black voters with Juneteenth celebration

“It’s very, very important ... to make sure that we’re explaining what this administration has done,” Montgomery, Alabama, Mayor Steven Reed told reporters while discussing potential apathy among young Black voters.

“We have to make sure we’re willing to go to the fraternity meetings, we have to make sure we’re willing to go to the Masonic halls, that we’re going to the churches, the men’s groups, the barbershops — or wherever (young people) might be and talk about what this administration has done, how it benefits young men and young women, and, more particular, what they can do with another four years,” he said.

Engaging Black voters is a crucial part of Biden’s reelection strategy. In 2020, a massive turnout from the Black community in battleground states was a key factor in turning the 2020 election in his favor. Without a repeat performance this November, Biden’s path to victory is more complicated.

“He’s going to get the lion’s share of the Black vote, but if turnout is anemic, it’s not going to be enough to help him out in battleground states (like Georgia),” Emory University political science professor Andra Gillespie said Monday on The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s “Politically Georgia” podcast.

Black voters, particularly young people, want to see Biden campaign in their communities “and not assume that just because you’re going to get the vast majority of Black voters in the state” that he doesn’t “have to be attentive to the issues.”

Meanwhile, the Trump campaign is trying to peel away minority votes. Last month, Trump held a rally in the diverse neighborhood of the South Bronx where he claimed Biden’s immigration policies hurt Black and Hispanic Americans.

The Biden administration is picking up its efforts to highlight his track record with Black Americans, inviting regional reporters to the White House to speak with several senior staff members ahead of a Juneteenth celebration and concert.

Top staffers stressed that Biden has done more than select the first Black person and first woman to serve as vice president, nominate the first Black woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court and appointed what they say is the most diverse administration in history.

For example, in 2022 Biden won passage of the first major gun control bill in nearly 30 years, said Greg Jackson, the deputy director of the Office of Gun Violence Prevention.

The legislation included incentives for states to pass so-called red flag laws that allow groups to petition courts to remove weapons from people deemed a threat to themselves or others. It also expanded an existing law preventing people convicted of domestic abuse from owning a gun to include dating partners instead of only just spouses and former spouses.

“This tremendous and historic effort is working, to be frank,” Jackson said. “Last year, we saw a 13.5% reduction in homicides — the steepest decline in American history.”

An FBI report released Monday found that there was a 26% reduction in gun-related homicides in the first quarter of this year.

Georgia lawmakers have, for years, opposed similar attempts to change gun laws, instead making it easier for residents to access and carry weapons.

The summit was held the same day the White House announced that Vice President Kamala Harris would be visiting Georgia for the fourth time this year when she plans to address the 100 Black Men of America’s 38th annual conference.

Staff writer Michelle Baruchman contributed to this article.