ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

Black communities in swing states like Georgia will be among the most important voting blocs in this year’s presidential election. Juma Sei of member station WABE talked with one community of Black men in Atlanta to see how they’re feeling about the election.

JUMA SEI, BYLINE: When I walk into Ernie’s in the Cut…

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SEI: …It’s a familiar scene.

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SEI: Ernest Hood, the owner, says this isn’t your typical barbershop. It’s…

ERNEST HOOD: A home base for all things dope, artistic and creative.

SEI: Over the last few weeks, I’ve joined his crew to talk about the election. My first visit was last month, the night before President Biden debated former President Donald Trump.

HOOD: We got two 80-something-year-old white cats, essentially, to choose from.

SEI: Right.

HOOD: This is, like, real plantation mode for me.

SEI: Both campaigns have been reaching out to Black men in Georgia, but Hood says it feels like pandering. President Biden spoke at Morehouse graduation in May. The following month, Vice President Kamala Harris came to speak at a conference of Black men. She was back in Atlanta in less than a week, speaking at an event with Quavo from the Atlanta trap group Migos. Republicans have also sponsored multiple events to reach Black men. One took place at a cigar bar, another at a barbershop. Trump was in Atlanta himself a few months ago.

HOOD: And went to Chick-fil-A on MLK and bought 30 milkshakes, bro.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: I remember that.

HOOD: Thirty milkshakes, man.

SEI: The second time I’m at Ernie’s, earlier this month, I continue talking politics with Javon Lee. He also isn’t excited for November.

JAVON LEE: But if you look at it in totality, it’s not even meant for us.

SEI: He means Black folks.

LEE: It almost makes you doubtful, unhopeful that anything could actually happen.

SEI: The last time I’m at Ernie’s, this week, the political landscape has shifted.

What’s up?

HOOD: What’s up, chief?

SEI: How you doing?

HOOD: How you doing, man?

SEI: I’m doing well. (Inaudible). Rain or shine.

HOOD: Rain or shine. Talk about it. Talk about it.

SEI: Joe Biden announced he’s stepping aside, and Harris is now the likely Democratic nominee. This time, I talk with Devron Barrett, a regular at Ernie’s. I ask how he feels about Harris.

DEVRON BARRETT: I don’t feel no ways – right? – because, at this point, I find it very hard to take any of this political [expletive] serious.

SEI: Barrett also says he doesn’t feel represented by Harris, a former California attorney general. He points to a clip created by the then-Biden-Harris campaign during the BET Awards – a chat between actress Taraji P. Henson and Harris.

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VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: But these extremists, as they say, they not like us.

SEI: That’s a reference to Kendrick Lamar’s viral diss track, “Not Like Us.”

BARRETT: She ain’t like me or nobody I represent.

SEI: Barrett and Harris are both Black, but Barrett says that Harris’ record as a prosecutor shows that she’s not part of his community. Barrett has voted in local and state elections, but he doesn’t vote at the federal level. He says, no matter who’s in power, he’s always felt the weight of being Black in America. He quotes James Baldwin – to be Black in America is to be in rage almost all the time.

BARRETT: If you are Black in America, you understand intrinsically exactly what he means by that – you know? – because, every day, it’s something.

SEI: The Trump campaign says Black folks are turning their backs on Democrats, and the former president has helped build generational wealth for Black families. The Harris campaign underscores the grassroots fundraising and support they’ve already gotten from Black men, including a virtual event with over 50,000 participants. They’ll be back in Atlanta next week for a rally.

For NPR News, I’m Juma Sei in Atlanta.

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