that nobody should trust ♪ >> byr are lean towards trump. >> yes i am. i believe in what president biden is trying to accomplish, and i will be standing with him. >> we're on the ground in three battleground states. show of hands. if this will be the first

presidential election you've had the chance to vote, the shortcomings they see in our political system, there's no apathy in black men. >> there's a level of antipathy. black men are not better off because of politics. >> plus, comedian d.l. hughley on the difference black men could make in november. >> it all comes down to this. what are you willing to do to make sure you have made your descendants a lot better? >> this special edition of nightline black men and the ballot will be right back. can nariva support your brain health? >> mary? >> janet. hey eddie. >> no! fraser. frank. frank fred, how are you? fred? >> fuel up to seven. brain health indicators, including your memory. join the nariva brain health challenge. when life spells heartburn, how do you spell relief? >> rolaids. rolaids dual active formula begins to neutralize acid on contact. rolaids

>> good evening. thank you for joining us on this juneteenth, where we reflect on our nation's history and treatment of black americans. we also look to the future and the pivotal role black men could play in the 2024 election. i was on the ground in three battleground states, talking to voters who say they're used to being courted during elections and disregarded afterwards, which in an increasingly tight looking race is making each of their votes harder to win. site of one of the biggest battle rap competitions of the season weighs on me. >> this is old school rapping in its rawest form, boasting and bragging and not for the faint of heart. >> we in the house of

representatives ain't no snitching on the ticket. you could tell that at minute things don't know me by my government. i get work from the man. i tell them to send it a lyrical beatdown. >> why do not you use your influence to be the bridge to this? >> the fact you couldn't beat a gateway? >> i took offense to it. >> i beat with you every day. >> with popular headliners and a high energy crowd. but here battle rap is the appetizer. the battle for the white house is the main course. the rabbit out there. no slogan, no campaign buttons, no candidates. a political feast served in a particular way for this particular audience. what is this conference? what's it called and what's its purpose? >> it's called no cap and young black man. language is means no lies. this is the truth. and our purpose was to talk to the people who are talking to black men that don't participate in election. >> very excited about this. yeah, i'm a very excited about

it. >> mondale robinson is the founder of the black male voter project. nice to meet you as well. but i hear you say is that this conference is for the untouchables, the undesirables. >> we talk to the brothers that the world don't want to talk to. we make them sing. >> historically black colleges and universities, hbcus, churches. robinson says there's a path of political parties always follow when reaching out to black voters. his organization follows a different path. >> yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely part of the narrative in america about black male voters. >> i believe, is that they're apathetic. they don't care. true. >> false, false as hell. there's no apathy in black men. there's a level of antipathy. antipathy is a whole different emotion. you hate what politics is and does because you've not seen the growth or benefit of it. black men are not better off because of politics. >> black men are core of the democratic party's path to victory. for generations. while the black community still overwhelmingly supports democrats, some of that support

could be eroding. recent abc news polling shows that more black people have moved away from president biden. some of the black voters most likely to support trump are those under 50. in a year where the election could be a toss up, black men could play a pivotal role. >> lives were lost for this, right? >> it's like, what am i voting for tonight? >> we're on the ground in three battleground states. show of hands. if this will be the first presidential election you've had the chance to vote, listing to black men about the issues that matter to them. >> i still see the drugs, the crime people literally have to decide whether they want to pay a bill or buy groceries. >> and speaking to those who have the ear of the two camps battling for the white house, the role of black voters in this election is really going to be monumental. >> but whether you vote or not, you're voting. >> whether you say yes, you check a ballot or not, you are saying something. >> who here knows misinformation

? >> at the no cap conference, attendees sat in on seminars about election misinformation and the 15th amendment. >> at least trump be out in the open with what he stand for and what he do. hit man holly john, john da don, artist entertainers, battle rappers and both fathers in their 30s say up until now, politics has been a luxury they could not afford if either one of you ever voted in a presidential election one time, one time, one time. >> when was that? >> obama you point to your hand. >> voted for the brother, voted for the black man. then what happened? >> nothing. the vote is the last thing on my mind. y'all want me to vote for what? so mike brown can get shot ten times in his head? that's what i'm voting for . so. so, george floyd can get killed on camera, bro. what am i voting for? what am i going to standing in this line for and voting for one of these people?

for? why? but y'all want to act like my vote really matters, man . bro. >> in 2020, record turnout among black voters helped turn georgia blue, but hit man and john john still weary of voting come november. you're leaning towards trump. >> yes i am, i feel like it was more change, when trump was in office than biden. if we got to compare what's going on, he said, you're not black if you don't vote for me. >> if you have a problem figuring out whether you're for me or trump and you ain't black, who says that? >> it was wild to hear that? and then what? what have you done? >> the biden administration recently launching a new strategy to convince black voters of what they've done, touting student debt forgiveness support to black owned small businesses, record low unemployment levels, and an increase in black wealth because black americans voted. >> carmen and i are president and vice president of the united states because of you. >> so when i see you brothers in late fall, you wearing maga

hats? >> no, no, that's what i'm saying. the thing is, i vote, but that's what i'm saying. my only options, it's just like, hey, you want to burn your hand in the oven or you gonna burn your hand in a toaster? >> the former president has tried to court black voters in a myriad of ways. from trump branded never surrender high tops. >> it's a slightly different audience than i'm used to, but i love this audience. >> bringing rappers on stage with them make america great again. rapper 50 cent weighing in on where black male voters stand during a visit with lawmakers. >> i see them identifying with trump. why do you say that? because they got rico charges. >> but trump's appeal to some of hip hop music's biggest fans young, college educated black voters likely isn't translating. we talked to some brothers who were in the battle rap. they're

entrepreneurial. they have dynamic businesses. they're doing well. they support their families. and they were thinking a about not voting at all and be thinking about voting for donald trump. >> i mean, slavery took a long time to end, and it was, wow, you're going there. yeah, 100. that is exactly what that is. i can definitely say from my family's perspective as well. growing up in south carolina, a lot of them agree with donald trump. >> we caught up with these four young men at saint augustine's university, an hbcu in raleigh, north carolina. both biden and trump have invested in these institutions. i want to show you a videotape of a speech he gave not too long ago that indicted a second time and a third time and a fourth time, and a lot of people said that that's why the black people like me, because they have been hurt so badly and discriminated against. >> that's not us. that's crazy to think that, like, you can relate to a whole community just by going to jail is, is outrageous. i kind of feel like disgusted that he felt like he could get to us by making jokes

about going to jail and relating to us. by that way, it's not what we stand for as people. >> what issues matter most to you guys this election? >> i'm so politically tired. like i don't even know what issues i care about anymore. reproductive rights. for me it's important, but it's like i'm tired. are you tired constantly having to fight as a black man in every space? it's like every system is built in opposition of our success. all four tell us they'll be voting for president biden in november. >> show of hands. if this will be the first presidential election you've had the chance to vote. >> i think it's really important our ancestors fought for this, so i feel like it's very important for black people in general just to vote. >> the state of north carolina has been a mainstay in the story of black political progress in america. in greensboro, four hbcu students famously spearheaded the nationwide sit in movement in the 1960s, and for generations, the black

church instrumental in fighting for fair access to the ballot. republican congressional candidate abdul ali knows full well the power of the church. >> this is exactly what i wanted a nice, intimate crowd of folks to come out for lunch, hosting a politics in the pulpit event in the charlotte area. >> amen, amen. >> it's an important constituency to win over in a state that trump carried by about a point in 2020. does donald trump reflect your values politically and personally? >> politically? yeah and some of the values personally. am i a fan of the mean tweets and calling people out of their name? i don't think that has any place in civilized politics. i don't, but i also recognize that if you read the framers of the constitution, they were just as ruthless and gangster and mean as donald trump is. >> how is life for black america, you think under donald trump? >> let sexy read tell it. we was getting money rising rap artist sexy red going viral for this

video. >> praise the covid financial relief issued under the trump administration. >> oh baby, we love trump. we need him back in office. we were doing a lot better. >> that's not fully true, is it? right. black unemployment is lower than it's ever been. >> we've not seen an increase in the quality of life. i don't think black america can take four more years of this. i don't think we can. some of the things that have plagued us is the lack of good jobs, the ones that can take care of a family. >> saginaw, michigan less than two hours north of detroit. >> once a thriving hub for the auto industry, curly coleman is the chief executive officer of saginaw county community action committee. >> how you doing? >> my concern, personally, is our black community being able to have the opportunity to go into homes, financial literacy, education, opportunities to advance while black unemployment reached historic lows during

president biden's first term here in michigan, black unemployment is at least 50% higher than the national average trump won here in 2016. >> biden in 2020 by just 303 votes in a pivotal state. it's a pivotal swing county, and both biden and trump know it already. making stops here. >> i believe what president biden is trying to accomplish and i will be standing with him. >> but not everyone is convinced. antonio brooks, who's voted in every presidential election since he was 18. he is now questioning whether he wants to vote at all. >> all we do is go in and just vote for straight tickets. we just vote democrat so we're not holding them accountable. >> we just giving them our vote, which if i feel like you don't deserve it, i'm not giving it to you anymore. i keep it myself. >> coming up, one of the contenders for trump's running mate, his controversial remarks about the jim crow era. do you want to clarify that comment at

all? and king of comedy, d.l. hughley goes beyond the laughs and gets serious about pushing for biden at the ballot. >> obviously, we're not a monolith, but i think ultimately i'm going to do what i can to make sure this administration sees another term. >> did you know 80% of women are struggling with hair damage, just like i was? dryness and frizz could be damaged. hair that can't retain moisture. new pantene miracle rescue deep conditioner with first of its kind melting pro-v pearls, locks and moisture to repair six months of damage in one wash without way down, guaranteed. >> or your money back for brasilia. >> healthy looking hair. if you know you know it's pantene. greatness hurts, but with care you can keep chasing it.

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>> jimmy -- second cousin once removed. >> jimmy, second cousin once removed. say hi to second cousin once removed. >> byron: he says he's always been serious about black men's role in politics. a couple of brothers say, i don't think i'm going to vote, i have no reason to vote. >> i wouldn't even interest me talking to them. i want to talk to men who want to be leaders. you're not a child. only children love sugar and immediacy that much. you're a grown man, and you have a say if your future. >> byron: he's been a vocal biden supporter but critical at times. what were those conversations like? >> they were heated. they said some things, we head some things. at that point, i didn't know i could be supportive of this administration. >> byron: what's changed for you? >> here's the thing. i was done in 1964. i was the first one of my

mother's children born with the full rights of an american citizen. my youngest granddaughter was born with fewer rights. affirmative action has been struck down or minimized. her autonomy over her own body. we're going the wrong direction. >> byron: what i hear you saying is joe biden might not be an ideal choice, but he is for you a better choice than donald trump? >> i want to be clear about that. i voigted for joe biden. he's not to me the lesser of two evils. i think history will judge him a lot differently than we do right now. >> byron: hughley moderated an event with vice president kamala harris. black unemployment has reached record lows. wealth of black families up 60% the last few years. many we've spoken to on the ground in north carolina and georgia and michigan say they don't feel the effects. so where's the disconnect? >> i think that millions of black people were lifted out of poverty. that doesn't mean everybody's gainfully employed. it does mean there were strides made that hadn't previously been met. and i think that's important to

know. >> byron: even with big voices like hughley's amplifying biden's record, democrats' messaging isn't always breaking through. the last three presidential election cycles, black men were more likely than black women to vote republican. >> i believe that voters in our country are shifting under beneath the feet of the political parties. >> byron: that shifting of america, why is that, you think? >> at the end of the day, i think the american people just want commonsense policies that work. >> byron: congressman byron donalds is being considered as the vp contender for former president trump. this past weekend, he was by his side at a church roundtable in detroit. >> we achieved the lowest african american unemployment rate and the lowest african american poverty rate ever recorded. >> we're not giving biden any credit for the labor statistic number. black unemployment 4.8%, under trump 5.3%. he gets no credit for that. >> it's hard to give credit, when yes, you've got a job, but at the same time, you can't make

ends meet. under biden's economy, unemployment rate might be lower, but every other beneficial aspect of having a job, black men, and frankly people in general, are not seeing in joe biden's america. >> byron: the florida congressman recently sparked controversy for his remarks at a congress, cognac, and cigars event for trump in philadelphia. >> during jim crow, the black family was together. during jim crow, more black people were not just conservative, black people always have been conservative-minded, but more black people voted conservatively. >> byron: you've come under fire for remarks about black life during jim crow. do you want to clarify that comment at all? >> what i was talking about is that marriage rates in the black community were significantly higher before lyndon johnson's great society. before that era was the jim crow era. second thing i would say is that the scrutiny really came from the biden campaign and from democrats. you know, i'm 45 years old.

black man in america. i know the history of jim crow quite well. i would never say that jim crow was better for black people. >> byron: for all his support for the former president, his belief in the republican party, he acknowledges his party historically did not prioritize black voter reachout. the reality of america today still is the vast majority of black voters are not conservative republicans. >> i think the reason why that has been the case historically is because there's not been a lot of comfort with black people in the republican party. for the last several decades, just hasn't gone to try to get black voters and court black voters and build relationships with black voters. president trump has changed that view. >> byron: but has donald trump changed the gop enough to sway more black men to vote for them? a demographic perhaps less devoted to a party, but more linked to an ideal their devoted to a party, but more linked to an ideal their ancestors bled and died for. i won't let my moderate to severe plaque psoriasis symptoms define me.

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♪ >> byron: finally tonight in the words of opal lee, the woman known as the grandmother of juneteenth, quote, "if peopl