President Obama challenges Black men: Don’t sit out; vote for Kamala

FORMER PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA GREETS ABOUT 50 PEOPLE INSIDE A HARRIS/WALZ CAMPAIGN HEADQUARTERS IN EAST LIBERTY, OCT. 10, 2024. (PHOTO BY KRISTINA SERAFINI/POOL PHOTO)

THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION — LESS THAN THREE WEEKS AWAY

Barack Obama makes special visit to group of African American men and women in East Liberty

Standing six feet, two inches tall, and even taller with dress shoes on, the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, walked into a room full of African American men and women at a de facto Harris/Walz campaign headquarters in East Liberty, Thursday, Oct. 10, and immediately got to work.

He wasn’t necessarily there to take selfies with everyone. He wasn’t there to shoot hoops. He was there to directly address Black men.

It’s do or die time now. It’s put up or shutup. Less than 21 days away from the Presidential Election that could, could have the U.S. swinging in one direction, or swinging in another direction.

Which direction does President Obama want it to swing? In Kamala Harris’ direction, of course. He endorsed her, the woman he’s known for over 20 years.

“We know she can do the job,” Obama said. “Kamala has made us proud.”

But when polls across the country suggested that African American men weren’t, as a whole, too enthusiastic about voting in this election, or even desiring to vote for Harris’ opponent, former president Donald Trump, Obama came to East Liberty with his Kendrick Lamar face on, in effect saying that Trump is “not like us.”

“When you have a choice that is this clear…” Obama began, speaking directly to Black men, of which there were about 20 in the actual East Liberty room; however, Obama knew he was being recorded and that his commentary would make it around the country in an instant to all Black men. “On the one hand you have somebody who grew up like you, knows you, went to college with you, understands the struggles and pain and joy that comes from those experiences, who’s had to work harder and do more and overcome and achieves the second-highest office in the land, and is putting together concrete proposals to directly address the things that are vital in our neighborhoods and communities, from housing to making sure our mothers and fathers and grandparents can afford medicine…and making sure that we are dealing with prices that are too high and rents that are too high and who is committed to making sure we maintain the Affordable Care Act so everybody’s got health care, and cares about things like education and entrepreneurship in our neighborhoods…”

Obama continued: “And on the other side you have someone who has consistently shown disregard not just for the communities but for you as a person…and you’re thinking about sitting out?”

K. Chase Patterson, a well-known African American man in the Pittsburgh community who also is CEO of The Urban Academy in Larimer, quipped to Obama: “I’m not (thinking about sitting out),” to some laughter.

But Obama wasn’t laughing as he responded: “But cousin Pookie might be, and you’re coming up with all kinds of reasons and excuses? I’ve got a problem with that, because part of it makes me think, and I’m speaking to men directly…part of it makes me think that you just aren’t feeling the idea of having a woman as president, and you’re coming up with other alternatives and other reasons for that.”

A recent New York Times/Siena poll found that 78 percent of Black men plan to vote for Harris in the presidential election, and 15 percent plan to vote for Trump. President Joe Biden had the support of Black men in 2020 at a rate of 90 percent.

That 12 percentage point dropoff is concerning to the Harris campaign. So much so that she’s come out with an “Opportunity Agenda for Black Men,” which read that it would forgive loans of up to $20,000 for Black entrepreneurs and more investment into helping Black men land jobs among other key points.

Across the Internet, some Black male podcasters and YouTubers have rejected Obama’s words, saying that Black men should be able to vote for whomever they wish.

Still, Obama was undeterred. As the first (and so far, only) Black person to hold the U.S. presidency, Obama didn’t ask for permission to speak his mind in East Liberty.

“Women in our lives have had our backs this entire time,” Obama told Black men in East Liberty, Oct. 10. “They’ve been raising us and working and having our backs, and when we get in trouble, and the system’s not working for us, they’re the ones that are out there marching and protesting. And so now you’re thinking about sitting out or even supporting somebody who has a history of denigrating you? Because you think that’s a sign of strength? Because that’s what being a man is? Putting women down? That’s not acceptable.”

FOLLOWING HIS SPECIAL VISIT TO EAST LIBERTY, FORMER PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA SPOKE TO THOUSANDS AT PITT’S FITZGERALD FIELD HOUSE, OCT. 10, 2024. (PHOTOS BY J.L. MARTELLO)