Dems must address Black male economic woes

Democrats aspire to be the party of working people. But if they want that message to resonate with one of their most loyal constituencies, they need to speak more directly — and more consistently — about the specific economic challenges confronting Black men and boys.

A new report from the Virginia State University John Mercer Langston Institute for African American Political Leadership provides a sobering reminder of why.

The Economic State of Black Men and Boys in the United States, authored by Dr. Wes Bellamy, establishes what its authors intend to be an annual national benchmark measuring education, employment, earnings, wealth and economic mobility.

Its findings are difficult to ignore. Black men’s share of total HBCU enrollment has fallen to just 26%.. Black men continue to experience some of the nation’s highest unemployment among major racial and ethnic groups.

And Black men earn roughly 77 cents for every dollar earned by White men.

Yet Black men rarely receive sustained attention in national political messaging from either political party, most notably Democrats. 

Democrats often frame economic inequality through broad discussions of the working class. And too often Democrats. And too often Democrats operate as though Black voters are not equally a part of the working class as white voters in the South and Midwest. 

The party does not always recognize broad language can sometimes obscure the unique barriers facing Black men and boys. A Black man hearing about “economic opportunity for everyone” may not hear an acknowledgment of the distinct obstacles documented in reports like this one.

That doesn’t mean Democrats should abandon a universal economic agenda. It means Democrats must recognize targeted problems deserve targeted attention.

Imagine Democrats talking as frequently about increasing Black male college completion as they do about student debt.

Imagine campaign platforms specifically highlighting the need to reduce persistently higher unemployment among Black men, expand apprenticeships and workforce training, strengthen pathways into high-paying skilled trades and support entrepreneurship in underserved communities. 

There is also a political reality Democrats cannot afford to ignore as well. Black women remain the party’s most reliable voting bloc, consistently turning out at higher rates than Black men and supporting Democratic candidates by overwhelming margins. Women overall have voted at higher rates than men in every presidential election since 1980, and that pattern extends to Black voters. In the 2024 election, exit polling found that Black women continued to support the Democratic ticket at higher rates than Black men, while at the same time Republicans made measurable gains among Black men. Democrats cannot win elections with erosion among Black men. The party is strongest by boosting Black male turnout to match Black women. 

Democrats shouldn’t abandon Black men or assume their concerns mirror those of every other Democratic constituency. If economic data show Black men lagging in college enrollment, employment, wages and wealth accumulation, Democrats should address those challenges directly — not because of electoral strategy alone, but because they represent real barriers to opportunity.

Speaking candidly about these issues, offering measurable solutions and treating Black men’s economic mobility as a national priority would strengthen both public policy and the party’s ability to win elections. 

Black men remain a cornerstone of the Democratic coalition, but their support cannot be taken for granted. Many Black men have expressed frustration that conversations about race often overlook their economic concerns.

Addressing those concerns directly is not about dividing white and Black constituencies or creating competition among coalitions that Democrats equally need to win. It is about recognizing that effective policymaking begins by honestly identifying who faces which challenges and that winning elections requires coalition building. 

The report offers evidence-based recommendations to improve educational opportunity, workforce participation, and long-term economic success for Black men. That kind of research should become a more prominent focus of the national policy conversation.

Stated more bluntly: Democrats should work as hard for Black male votes as they do to win “working class white” voters in the South and Midwest. 

Kevin Harris is a Democratic strategist who served in the Obama administration as a Cabinet member for two big-city mayors and as executive director of the Congressional Black Caucus.