Check out our series of explainer podcasts about the US Presidential election at
TRANSCRIPT
Sunday Service at the Big Bethel Church is a celebration.
Devotion is shown through song, dance and - put simply - joy.
It’s the oldest African American church in Atlanta, established by slaves in 1847.
The city’s Black community has traditionally been a key backer of Democrats and everyone we spoke to in the pews is supporting Kamala Harris.
Sheila Johnson is holding a church fan with the Vice President’s face on it.
Reporter: “We’re not seeing many Donald Trump church fans here?”
“Well some of the reason is that the church is about being honest and having values, until we see some of that on the other side because it doesn’t matter what the policy, if you can’t be trusted and if you don’t have the lower people in mind, because we believe in faith, family and doing things the right way.”
The Church is apolitical, not telling members how to vote but encouraging them, and those around them, to make their voices heard.
Reverend John Foster feels it’s his duty.
“Literally it’s only been 60/65 years that all of us have been established the right to vote, so voting is a sacred privilege for us and that’s what we want to try to encourage people to remember, that it is a sacred privilege.”
He believes it was a higher power that saw little-known Senator Barack Obama become President and he sees the same forces at work now.
“Look at what happened with Vice-President Harris: they were rolling along, then all of a sudden somebody said ‘oh Biden’s too old and he can’t keep his sentences together and he’s going to lose, then out of nowhere Kamala Harris becomes the nominee for the Democratic Party. And to me that’s God. It wasn't planned. And some of the greatest things that happened to our country are things that just come up like that.”
Yet Democrats still have work to do when it comes to the support of Black voters, particularly young men.
Polls suggest there has been a ‘drift’ towards Trump.
Harris voters we spoke to don’t dispute that.
“I don't think they need to be concerned. I think maybe there’s some truth to it, just because he has loomed large in American culture, particularly hip-hop culture, Black men are familiar with him and associate and aspire to achieve the successes he’s purported or presented or projected.”
One recent survey found that nationwide, 26 per cent of 18 to 40 year-old Black men plan to vote for Donald Trump, compared to only 12 per cent of Black women of that age.
Traditionally Republicans have put most of their resources in Georgia into the more rural counties; well, not this time.
Election day looms and Donald Trump is holding a rally in Downtown Atlanta.
The vast majority of Trump supporters we saw were white but there were some African-American fans.
In 2020, Joe Biden won the Black vote by a 75 point margin.
Mike and Tanishea suspect Trump will do much better this time, believing many in their community see him as stronger when it comes to the economy.
Reporter: "Is it difficult being Black Donald Trump supporters in Atlanta these days?"
"Not at all."
"There’s a lot of Black supporters these days, you’d be surprised. Especially in the (neighbour)hood, there’s a lot of people supporting Trump but they’re not going to tell you that because he resonates with people, he's For America. A lot of people don't believe Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, are really For America - we thought they were but they're not.”
Reporter: “Is there anything Kamala Harris could do to get your vote?"
“Nah, not a damn thing."
"No."
"(her) Track record doesn’t speak… You can be stupid - if you want another four years like we just had, go for it.”
The idea of Democrats ‘taking Black voters for granted’ is a common one in Atlanta.
Derrick Stephenson is wearing bright red ‘Make America Great Again’ shorts and says it’s time to take a chance with a Republican.
“The Black community is tired of being lied to. For 40 years we have been voting Democrat, and what good has it got you? Then to have someone sit there and placate they’re Black, and they’re really not.”
“So you think Kamala Harris is not Black?"
" She never was, she is not. You go down her family history, you see a lot of Irish, you see a lot of Hindu, you don’t see anything that would be considered American foundational Black.”
It wasn't the last time we heard that claim.
Kamala Harris has always identified as both Black and South Asian, born to an Indian Mother and Jamaican father.
In a Cajun restaurant near the airport a strategy meeting’s underway.
Three women, all African-American, sit around a table discussing the latest numbers.
They know the race is close in Georgia and are fighting to ensure Trump gets over the line.
Lisa Babbage, a teacher, has been involved in Republican politics since she was 17.
Reporter: “Is President Trump a tough sell to the African American community?”
“It really depends on who you’re speaking to. If it’s an African-American single mother, it’s a hard sell; men, not so much; young people, not so much; old people, not so much. They all have their own reasons for wanting the economic freedom that his presidency has brought to us.”
The topic of identity - specifically, that of Kamala Harris - comes up again in the context of Donald Trump’s controversial comment from July:
“She was always of Indian heritage and she was only promoting Indian heritage. I didn’t know she was Black until a couple of years ago when she happened to turn Black and now she wants to be known as Black.”
Reporter: “Those comments can’t help sell him as a candidate to African American communities can it?"
“I would agree that does pose a problem but I don’t know her as Black either. To me, she’s not a Black American. I shared my heritage to you, I’m biracial, but the black American story that I’m familiar with is that I’m a descendant of slaves, not a slave owner, not Indian, not a person who has a tan, that’s who Kamala Harris is to me. To a certain degree, self-identification is crucial, however I could identify as a lamp today, or a chair tomorrow, are you going to accept something that is obviously false?”
Donald Trump might well win over more Black voters here than last time but Democrats are confident they’ll have the backing of the vast majority - potentially enough to take the state.
History suggests they ‘come home’ to the party in key elections and many hope to see history made.
“I think we’ll move past this point and maybe a future woman of colour candidate won’t have the same sort of resistance to fight against.”
