Kamala Harris, Obama and voting rights leaders are working to reach black voters ahead of Election Day.

MIAMI — Concerts and carnivals are taking place at polling places. Mobilization of “Souls for Elections” after Sunday service. And star-studded rallies featuring Hollywood actors, business leaders, music artists and activists.

All of these seemingly disparate efforts have a single goal: to increase black voter turnout ahead of Election Day.

How Black communities will fare in the 2024 elections has been closely scrutinized because of the key role Black voters have played in races for the White House, Congress and state legislatures across the country.

Vice President Kamala Harris, who would become the second black president if elected, has made reaching black voters a priority of her media and political platform. Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump sought to make inroads into Democrats’ most consistent voting bloc with unorthodox and sometimes controversial moves.

A key strategy for Harris and Democrats to reach black voters includes sending the first black president and his wife, the former first lady, to states where winning may come down to how well Obama convinces ambivalent or apathetic voters that they shouldn’t sit in office. one of.

Democratic efforts ranged from vigorous door-knocking campaigns in Atlanta, Detroit and Philadelphia this weekend to rallies across the states. Michelle Obama rallied voters in Norristown, Pennsylvania, on Saturday with Grammy Award-winning artist Alicia Keys, while Barack Obama stumped Milwaukee on Sunday. The former first lady also held her own, carefully nonpartisan rally on Tuesday, where speakers recalled the South’s civil rights history.

“I’m always amazed at how few people actually understand how deeply elections affect our daily lives,” Michelle Obama said. “Because it’s really you voting, it’s your chance to tell the people in power what you want.”

Efforts to increase black voter turnout often begin at the community level. In Miami, members of local churches gathered Sunday at the African Heritage Cultural Arts Center and marched to a nearby early voting center as part of a “Souls to the Polls” event.

“It really helps encourage others to vote,” said Regina Tharp, a Miami resident. She has voted before, but said people “get excited when they see us walking down the street. It encourages them to leave.”

First-time voter Sharina Perez brought her mother Selina DeJesus to vote on the last day of early voting in Florida. She said a number of issues inspired her to vote. “It was for me, my future, my mom’s future and the younger generation,” she said.

Organizers focused on black communities say they often struggle with fatigue and cynicism about politics, especially among young black voters and black men. But they are cautiously optimistic that their efforts will bear fruit.

“If you want the people who will suffer the most to come out, you need to go where they are,” said Jamarr Brown, executive director of the Color of Change PAC, whose campaigns targeting Black voters have included livestreams in Georgia. Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Over the past month, the group has reached more than 8 million voters in those states through text messaging and digital technology, he said.

“We go to those polling places and communities, those new platforms and websites where misinformation so often appears that targets our communities,” Brown said.

Other events had a looser structure. The Detroit Pistons, for example, held the Pistonsland festival in a predominantly black neighborhood, featuring music performances from rappers including Lil Baby, carnival games, food trucks and other fanfare, and opportunities to vote. The nonpartisan carnival was built next to the early voting polling place.

“I don’t like any of them,” said Carl Patrick, a Detroit native who attended the festival. However, he strongly supported Harris “because Trump wants to be a dictator.” Not all of his close friends came to the same conclusion — at least one of his friends was a strong supporter of the former president, he said.

Black voters make up the majority of Democratic voters in the country. But the Trump campaign has made a more concerted effort to reach a larger share of black voters this year, especially black men.

The Trump campaign also focused on economic arguments. Trump has repeatedly said that illegal immigrants take “menial jobs,” despite what economists think. declare the claim unfounded. The campaign believes the former president’s broader stance on the economy, crime and traditional values ​​appealed to black communities.

“If Kamala wanted to turn our country around, she would do it now,” said Janiya Thomas, a Trump campaign spokeswoman. “We deserve more than just token gestures—we deserve a leader who respects us, empowers us, and backs it up with action.”

GOP Reps. Byron Donalds and Wesley Hunt became Trump’s key surrogates for reaching black men. In October, the campaign hosted a roundtable in Philadelphia featuring black male barbers along with Donalds. Federation of Black Conservatives, where Trump attended a gala earlier this yearheld a “closing argument” event with Donalds and Hunt on Sunday.

Millions of black voters, like many Americans, have already cast ballots in elections, including in Georgia and North Carolina.

Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., spoke about turnout in the state at Tuesday’s brunch and bus tour kickoff organized by the Black Music Action Coalition.

“The truth is that Trump advised his people, who always vote on Election Day, to leave early. It is because of them that these numbers seem so large. For us black people, we do a little worse,” Johnson said.

Early turnout among Black voters in North Carolina lagged slightly compared to 2020, although increased turnout late in early voting narrowed the gap. Whether Black voter turnout will break records in 2020 depends on Election Day. Many seasoned black leaders believe a variety of strategies will help attract voters.

“Obviously there’s always a group of people who still don’t believe their voice matters, and they fall behind,” said the Rev. Wendell Anthony, a Detroit pastor and president of the city’s NAACP chapter. But for now, he added, “the indicators for us are that these people will come out. They will not miss this historical moment.”

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Matt Brown reported from Wilmington, Delaware. Makiya Seminera in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Jeff Amy in Atlanta contributed.