In one key swing state, both parties are courting Black men

In his 76 years, Phillip Barker has seen many changes in his home state of North Carolina: desegregation, fewer farmers — and a less predictable climate. But, one thing has not changed for him: his commitment to voting.

As a young man, his mother told him, “you gonna vote.”

“She didn’t tell us who to vote for, but she made sure we understood that we had one vote and exercised that. I don’t miss a vote,” Barker said standing alongside some of the crops on his organic vegetable farm in Oxford, N.C.

Barker and other Black men in North Carolina — one of seven swing states — could play a critical role in this year’s presidential election. Polls show both candidates in an extremely tight race. And both parties are making specific appeals to voters like Barker. Democrats are touting policies that benefit Black men, and reminding them of former President Trump’s comments about race and about the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va. Republicans are sending Black GOP lawmakers to talk with Black men. They have also tried relating Trump’s felony convictions to Black men — something Phillip Barker rejects. “Who wants felonies? Black people don’t want them!”

As a Black farmer, Barker says he is no stranger to discrimination. He faced years ago when applying for government loan programs.

“When you walk into an office and you realize you're discriminated against when you get to the door, you might really enjoy what you're going in there for, but it makes it miserable by the time you come out,” Barker said.

It took years of lawsuits, but Congress approved more than $2 billion to compensate farmers who were discriminated against by the USDA farm loan program. Compensation is welcome, says Barker, but he keeps thinking about