Christian Pounds and Cherita Evans, aka Storm the Barber, sit on chairs at Head Changers Barber Lounge on May 23, 2024 in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.
NPR’s Andrea Ellen Reid
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NPR’s Andrea Ellen Reid
ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. — Behind the barber’s chair and in the community, Cherita Evans, known as “Storm the Barber,” noticed a worrying trend in Vice President Harris’ campaign.
“Most of my female family and friends are voting for Harris,” Evans said in an interview at Head Changers last week. But some of the men in her life aren’t so sure, she said. “I think…many men aren’t ready to vote for women.”
“There are a lot of men in my community who wouldn’t even be able to lead women in the church,” Evans said.
The Harris campaign is working hard on this issue as early voting begins in key states where every vote counts. Polls show that former President Donald Trump may be making some inroads with black male voters, while other black men may not vote.
That’s why Harris will take questions from callers in battleground states on Tuesday during a town hall conversation moderated by influential black radio host Charlamagne the God. hardly threw a punch with Democratic politicians.
This week, former President Barack Obama emphasized this challenge. He told what he called “some truth” about how Harris’ energy and turnout in the black community was different than when she was running, adding, “It’s more pronounced among her brothers.” “It seems to be reflected in this,” he said.
“I think part of it is that you just don’t feel the idea of having a woman as president, and you’re coming up with other alternatives and other reasons for it,” Obama said.
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What Harris is doing to reach black male voters
Harris’ campaign is trying to attract black male voters, including hosting homecoming tailgate events at historically black colleges and universities. Mr. Harris also said: all the smokea podcast hosted by two former NBA stars, where she spoke about her identity. That’s something she didn’t lean into much during her campaigning.
This weekend, Harris is meeting with local black leaders in North Carolina. On Sunday, he plans to attend a church service in Greenville, followed by a gathering. The city is located in eastern North Carolina and has a large black population, but turnout among black voters has lagged in recent years.
Her path to the presidency continues through communities like Rocky Mount, where NPR first met Evans in May.
At the time, Evans said she didn’t like either Trump or Biden and wasn’t very enthusiastic about the election. Evans was disappointed that Harris disappeared from the spotlight.
“After she became vice president, she seemed kind of quiet,” Evans said.
Evans said he thinks Harris is a better candidate than Biden, but not perfect.
“Honestly, I don’t really like Trump, so I’m going to vote for her,” Evans said. “But I don’t think she’s done a very great job of addressing the major issues that we have.”
Like many voters this year, Evans says gas prices are too high and so are groceries. She saw an ad constantly on the barbershop’s TV in which Harris talked about going after companies for price gouging, but Evans didn’t think that was a real solution. No.
There are generational disparities in voting.
Back in May, Evans was cutting the hair of Christian Pounds, a 22-year-old college student. At the time, he didn’t like either candidate and didn’t think his vote would change anything.
Reached by phone this week, he said he definitely plans to vote. “I was kind of happy when Biden resigned,” Pounds said, explaining that he thought Biden was too old for the job.
Pound said he had a heated discussion with his uncle and cousin about voting the other night. His cousin has no intention of voting. “My uncle said, ‘You should vote for Kamala Harris.’
Pounds said she feels there is a real generational divide among her friends and family. “When it comes to whether or not to vote, it comes down to the young and the old.”
Mike Harris is a barber at Style Masters in the neighboring community of Wilson. He has always voted Democratic and said he hopes Harris will become the first female president.
But the same isn’t true for all of his clients and friends
“I don’t know if they’re joking or not, but some people say they’re voting for Trump,” Mike Harris said.
“Some people don’t believe in women in leadership, but I always say that…My mom raised me and my brother at home, so I think women can do that job,” Mike Harris said. spoke.
NPR’s jason fuller and Gus Contreras Contributed to this story.
