By Arriana McLymore, Bianca Flowers and Allende Miglietta

GREENSBORO, N.C./WASHINGTON, DC (Reuters) – Dressed in her school’s signature blue and gold colors, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University student Nia Heaston strolled around campus, marveling at the bustle during his 98th homecoming weekend in late October.

Like thousands of students, alumni and supporters of the nation’s nearly 100 historically black colleges and universities, Heaston quickly found himself swept up in the weekend-long celebration of culture, tradition, school pride and spirit. community of blacks.

HBCUs were once the only places where black Americans could pursue higher education when discriminatory laws prohibited them from attending predominantly white colleges.

The festivities, which attracted celebrities and politicians, featured step shows — drumming, stomping and clapping dance routines — by black fraternities and sororities. The gospel singers poured out their hearts. Models strutted down the runways in sparkling chain mail and floor-length fur coats under blue and violet lights.

Marching bands played and swayed as the crowd moved to the music before a football showdown with a rival HBCU.

“HBCUs aren’t just schools for black students — they’re homes,” said Heaston, a 21-year-old sophomore from Detroit.

In the midst of all this, enthusiastic volunteers engaged potential voters, urging them to exercise their power as citizens to be heard.

Homecoming weekends in many battleground states took on added meaning this year, weeks before the Nov. 5 election, when Democrat Kamala Harris, a Howard University graduate, ran for the White House against former Republican President Donald Trump.

Young Americans could play a crucial role in the race, as many will vote for the first time in a presidential election.

Heaston, a native of the swing state of Michigan, helped coordinate early voting initiatives like “Walk to the Polls,” which brought together students to walk less than a mile to vote at the campus voting site.

HBCU campuses pulsed with excitement as generations gathered, knowing that Harris has a chance to become the first HBCU graduate in the Oval Office.

At North Carolina A&T, the step show erupted into electrifying dance rhythms, with intricate footwork and synchronized clapping that echoed throughout First Horizon Coliseum.

At Howard University, members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc, to which Harris belongs, lined a hallway in formation, decked in green and holding pink pom-poms.

HBCUs have long been culturally and politically active centers among Black communities and have played a prominent role in elections and the civil rights movement. Famous alumni include Martin Luther King, Jr., a graduate of Morehouse College.

Harris has frequently spoken about how her years at Howard University in Washington, D.C. influenced her career.

“It challenges the narrative that HBCUs are somehow not on par with other universities,” said Ed Sanders, a political strategist and Howard alumnus.

Targeting undecided voters, Harris and Trump have invested heavily in political ads and multiple visits to battleground states like North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Georgia, where more than a dozen HBCUs are located. Trump won North Carolina by nearly 75,000 votes in 2020.

“North Carolina desperately needs” student votes, said Tiffany Seawright, director of leadership and engagement at North Carolina A&T, as ’90s R&B music blared at the tailgate of a social gathering held in parking lots. where hundreds lined up for barbecued ribs and fried catfish. Seawright urged students to cast their ballots at an early voting site on campus.

Both campaigns have made desperate efforts to court young adults, who can be harder to reach than those 30 and older.

Harris has received strong support among some groups of African Americans, considered the Democratic Party’s most loyal voting bloc, including young women, by engaging them in social justice and abortion rights. But young voters have criticized the Biden-Harris administration for its support for Israel during the war in Gaza and have expressed concern about Harris’ support among black men.

Trump has reportedly gained traction among black men, but some Democratic strategists say that has been overblown. A recent NAACP poll found that from August to October, the percentage of black men under 50 likely to vote for Trump fell from 27% to 21%, while support for Harris rose from 51% to 59%.

However, Harris’ lead over Trump narrowed in the final stretch of the race to a single percentage point over the Republican, 44% to 43%, a Reuters/Ipsos poll on Tuesday showed.

Parties must “make voters feel like they have a long-term relationship,” said Dr. Basil Smikle Jr., a political strategist and political consultant.

Harris’ campaign did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment. However, the campaign announced plans in September to partner with local campaigns to reach HBCU students during homecomings, emphasizing schools in the swing states of North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Georgia, a state that President Joe Biden he won by a narrow margin of 12,000 votes in 2020.

Trump campaign spokeswoman Janiyah Thomas said she is “taking the opportunity to connect with young Black voters” by highlighting initiatives that have benefited HBCUs and their home states.

Nonprofit Vote.org told Reuters it has registered more than 1 million voters ages 18 to 24 this election cycle by focusing on underrepresented and first-time groups in election campaigns and other outreach activities targeting students on HBCU and campus campuses. in areas with large numbers of voters of color.

Vote.org CEO Andrea Hailey cited “unprecedented” youth turnout this election cycle, as voters under 35 accounted for nearly 80% of all new registrations on the organization’s platform during the year. cycle 2024, compared to 64% in 2020.

Judge Montgomery, a freshman at NC A&T, registered to vote in July during band camp. The drummer plans to cast his vote on campus with other members of the band called Blue & Gold Marching Machine.

“At first I didn’t even see myself going to vote,” the Georgia native said. “We took a break from music just to dig deeper” into some election issues, Montgomery said after performing at NC A&T’s homecoming parade to cheers that also greeted the dance teams; the king, queen and other members of the campus “royal court”; and a banner of blue balloons that spells “Kamala.”

BlackPAC CEO Adrianne Shropshire said welcome events allow candidates to make a final push and have “substantive conversations with people who are still undecided.”

BlackPAC, a left-leaning political action committee, has collaborated with Howard University students to engage their peers as they celebrate their centennial.

Howard student Chloé Enoch, 21, said this year’s election and Harris’ candidacy have already inspired younger generations.

Harris, the HBCU’s most famous alumna, appeared on clothing, pins and other merchandise. Howard alumni waved paper fans that showed his face on the front and early voting and election dates on the back.

This homecoming is about realizing “how important your vote is,” said Kadin Wooten, 19, a first-time voter. She took a six-hour train ride home to New Haven, Connecticut, after class to vote in person.

Seeing a Howard graduate on the ballot energized the clothing brand’s owner, Travis Merritts, 21, a senior in college.

At homecoming, Merritts sold T-shirts emblazoned with Harris’ 1986 Howard graduation photo. He drove several hours south to Florence, South Carolina, to cast his first in-person vote because he felt it was meaningful.

“I’m happy to be able to participate in the possibility of establishing history,” Merritts said.

(Reporting by Arriana McLymore, Bianca Flowers and Allende Miglietta; Editing by Kat Stafford and Richard Chang)