At The Shop In Philly, Black Men Discussed Trump, Kamala Harris, Economic Opportunity And Distrust In Government As Strategists Look Toward The 2028 Election
Inside a West Philadelphia barbershop, a conversation about Black men and politics quickly became a debate over representation, economic opportunity, distrust in government and what candidates must do differently to earn Black men’s votes.
Political strategist Khalil Thompson brought his organization, Win With Black Men, to Philly Cuts for a two-hour discussion with several dozen men, including local politicians, union leaders, longtime residents, newcomers and high school students. Thompson has been traveling the country examining why some Black men moved toward Donald Trump during the 2024 presidential election, even as Black voters continued to overwhelmingly support Democrat Kamala Harris.
“We know the shop is like our own country club that we come to, so we really just want to start having a conversation about what’s important to us in our community,” Thompson said.
Black Men Push Back on Being Treated as a Monolith
The discussion underscored one of Thompson’s central arguments: Black men cannot be reached through a single political message.
He told The Associated Press that the daily concerns of a middle-class Black man in Washington, D.C., could look very different from those of Black men working in Houston, rural Georgia, Oakland or Detroit. Treating those voters as one political bloc, he said, risks missing significant differences in geography, income and life experience.
That tension became clear when civil engineer Stanley Thigpen argued that Trump has long occupied a place in Black popular culture, pointing to rappers who referenced him before he entered politics.
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Real estate agent Al Glay immediately pushed back, raising Trump’s history with the five Black and Latino teenagers wrongly convicted in the 1989 Central Park jogger case.
“He was blatantly racist,” Glay said. “How can you support that?”
The exchange quickly became heated, reflecting a broader debate that has continued since the 2024 election.
AP VoteCast found that about one-quarter of Black men supported Trump in 2024, compared with roughly 12% in 2020. Among Black men younger than 45, about three in 10 supported Trump, roughly twice his share four years earlier.
Economic Concerns and Distrust Shape the Conversation
Politics was only part of the discussion. The men also talked about education, opportunities for Black youth, artificial intelligence, food deserts and whether government is investing enough in their communities.
Thompson said Black men he has spoken with across the country repeatedly raise issues tied to being able to provide for their families, build wealth and gain education that leads to greater economic independence.
The economic disparities remain significant. The AP reported that Black men had a 6.2% unemployment rate in July, compared with 3.5% among white men. Federal Reserve data cited by the AP showed median Black family wealth at $44,890 in 2022, compared with $285,010 for white families.
Some participants said their frustration extends beyond either political party.
“For the longest time, we always have a reason to distrust government, because we know our history, right?” barber Maurice Anderson said.
He pointed to the 1994 crime legislation signed by President Bill Clinton, which has faced longstanding criticism over policies that contributed to disproportionate incarceration in Black communities.
“What has happened,” Anderson said, “is that we’re tapped out.”
Political Attention Already Turning Toward 2028
The stakes extend beyond Philadelphia.
Black residents make up about 40% of the city, and strong Democratic turnout there has historically been important to the party’s ability to compete statewide in Pennsylvania. Political strategists are already studying how shifts among Black men could affect the 2028 presidential race.
Terrance Woodbury, a political pollster whose firm HIT Strategies worked with the Harris campaign, said prospective Democratic presidential candidates have already approached his firm about reaching Black male voters.
“Black men are not a monolith,” Woodbury said.
Thompson, who began organizing during Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign and later founded Win With Black Men, argues that candidates must move beyond simply studying Black men during election season. His organization describes its mission as increasing Black men’s involvement in the political process while challenging stereotypes surrounding their votes, families and futures.
“We have the freedom today that countless ancestors prayed for, died for,” Thompson said. “And there are so many ways that we can use it. We just have to motivate and mobilize.”
The debate is not limited to Philadelphia. In Texas, similar questions about whether candidates are listening to Black voters are taking on greater significance ahead of November’s statewide elections.
Democrat James Talarico has made Black voter outreach a focus of his U.S. Senate campaign against Ken Paxton, while Gina Hinojosa has also been meeting with Black community leaders as she challenges Gov. Greg Abbott.
