With the election one week away, Pennsylvania State Representative Chris Rabb is making a special effort to reach Black male voters – and has some things to say about how they’re currently being portrayed by campaign operatives and the media. 

The Local caught up with him Tuesday to discuss exactly what he’s up to, and why. The following interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

When it comes to Black male voters in this election cycle, what is the Harris campaign – and the media – getting wrong?

“A lot of folks in corporate media are lazily or intentionally spreading fictions about the mentality and orientation of Black men without a lot of hard data to back it. We're trying to break the narrative that young Black men don't care, or that they're all crypto Trump supporters, or that they're misogynists.” 

You said the Harris campaign isn't doing enough to reach these young men. Is that across the board, or is that specific to Pennsylvania? 

“I can't say what they're doing in other states, but I can’t imagine that – if they're not doing it in the most consequential city with a very high percentage of black voters – they're doing it right anywhere else.

They seem to be focusing on white women in the suburbs, which is a very cynical and short-sighted choice because they tend to be a more capricious voting demographic.”

What are you doing about that?

“Black men are the second most loyal voting block of all, right, behind Black women. So since they decided not to do that outreach, I thought I would. I represent a district that's 75% Black and have a background in grassroots organizing, which is what actually got me into office. It wasn't endorsements, it wasn't large checks, it was doing the work.” 

What’s different about your approach?

"We're investing in what's called relational organizing, which is where we use people who are engaged in the electorate to tap into their respective networks. It’s a process that mobilizes contacts within a volunteer's network, reaching out and canvassing people that they know. 

We’re also teaching it – we’re holding training sessions over Zoom, using a digital organizing app called Reach. It acts as a digital campaign HQ – and allows supporters to collaborate and organize. We have one on Wednesday that’s specifically targeted at getting Black men involved in this kind of organizing.”

How does it work, exactly?

“Instead of cold calling people you've never met, we're having engaged citizens call their own family members, their own friends and neighbors to make sure that they voted and that they're going to come out and vote blue.”

Based on what you’re hearing, what are your expectations for voter turnout this year?

“I think voter turnout across my district will be Obama level, and I think it may even produce a higher turnout of younger voters, although there is a concern that younger voters may have progressive policy stances that are in sharp contrast to certain aspects of Kamala Harris's platform.”

You spoke about misconceptions regarding the media’s portrayal of Black male voters. Can you say more about that?

“I think it's important to understand that black men are as diverse ideologically as white men there are. They're conservatives, they're progressive and folks in the middle – and it also depends on the subject matter. Some people may be liberal on some issues, more conservative on others, and that doesn't change based on race. 

It's a very cynical and racist trope that perhaps Black men won't vote for a woman, or won't vote for a Black woman, when there's no evidence to suggest that. If there are younger voters who happen to be Black men who are not compelled by Kamala Harris, it does not mean it's because she's a woman or because she's Black.” 

What do you think the Harris campaign could be doing better? 

“They can take some of that billion dollars and pay canvassers who are from the communities where these Black voters are to engage them, and they haven't done that. They could have been doing that for months.

They know that when Black voters come out, we overwhelmingly vote the right way, but they haven't done that because they take Black voters for granted. It's not new, it's not specific to Kamala Harris or this particular race, it's what the democratic industrial complex has done for generations.”