WASHINGTON \u2013 The\u00a0Biden administration appears to be paying close attention to criticism that Democrats only engage with Black voters during election cycles without delivering on the issues they care about.<\/p>\n
Vice President Kamala Harris, who is playing a crucial role in the administration’s outreach,\u00a0quietly met last week with students and civil rights organizers to solicit ideas on how the Biden administration can lift up young Black men.<\/p>\n
In the private meeting, attendees detailed ways the White House can help young men of color improve their livelihoods. Harris also wanted to know how the White House can assist young Black men with overcoming stigmas.<\/p>\n
Attendees of the hour-long discussion with Harris said the conversation\u00a0continued with senior aides to the vice president after she departed. They left with the impression that the White House is looking to expand on its policies, they said, and improve its engagement with young men of color.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cThe purpose of the meeting really was for them to listen \u2013 for her to listen, her team to listen \u2013 and really figure out how to dig deep and think through an intentional plan around engaging Black men, particularly young Black men in this country who don\u2019t see themselves in the process, but most importantly, to address their concerns and issues,\u201d NAACP national vice president of membership Dominik Whitehead said.<\/p>\n\n
‘Fiscally demented:’<\/strong>In MLK Day remarks, Biden attacks Republicans’ legislative priorities<\/a><\/p>\n Biden at\u00a0MLK’s church:<\/strong>We have to ‘redeem the soul’ of America, president says<\/a><\/p>\n Whitehead said the vice president told attendees that she would listen and \u201ctake back everything that you listed and figure out what is our game plan\u201d as the administration builds out a strategy attendees can be involved in.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n Harris and her team were \u201cadamant\u201d about keeping the more than 30 participants apprised of \u201cwhat they do and what they plan on doing,\u201d said Tylik McMillan, the current manager of state outreach Credit Union National Association and a former civil rights organizer.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe vice president shared multiple times how it was a priority for them and they will continue to engage us, moving forward, as they are in the planning process of whatever they come up with or announce,\u201d McMillan said.<\/p>\n The office of the vice president declined to comment for USA TODAY’s story.\u00a0<\/p>\n The meeting comes as President Joe Biden prepares to give his State of the Union address and possibly announce a reelection bid and in the wake of a midterm cycle<\/a> in which many Black male voters said<\/a> they felt abandoned by the Democratic Party.\u00a0<\/p>\n Black women vote at higher rates for the Democratic Party compared to Black men. During the 2020 presidential election 95% of Black women voted for Biden while 87% of Black men voted for him, according to the Pew Research Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n Harris has been holding listening sessions with civil rights leaders, abortion rights activists, students and others.<\/p>\n Two days before Harris\u2019 meeting with young Black men, Biden emphasized his administration\u2019s efforts to pass federal voting rights reforms during a Sunday sermon at Ebenezer Baptist Church<\/a> in Atlanta.<\/p>\n The following day, at a Washington, D.C. breakfast hosted by the National Action Network, a civil rights organization founded by the Rev. Al Sharpton, Biden spoke at length about policies his administration<\/a>\u00a0put in place that are intended to improve the lives of Black Americans.<\/p>\n “On this one and so much I have your back,” Biden told\u00a0breakfast attendees.<\/p>\n![\"Vice](\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2023\/01\/22\/USAT\/9088d1a1-cd4b-4504-8a21-c612370e6864-AP_Abortion_Politics.jpg?width=660&height=440&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp\")
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