Harris’s Plans for Black Men Aim to Avoid the Setbacks Biden Faced

In the final stretch of the presidential campaign, Vice President Kamala Harris has been promoting her “Opportunity Agenda for Black Men” to help boost turnout among a vital constituency whose support for her has been slipping.

A close read of the plan, which focuses on the economy, entrepreneurship and jobs, shows how much Ms. Harris has learned over the past four years about enacting policies built around race. Such policies usually get held up in court or attacked by Republicans who cast them as unfair and woke-ism run amok.

That’s why the fine print of her plan for Black men says it’s actually a plan for Black men “and others,” a strategy to make sure it could survive legal and political challenges if she’s elected.

When President Biden and Ms. Harris entered office in 2020, they proposed a sprawling racial equity agenda that would distribute federal funds with a specific eye on communities of color and disadvantaged groups.

That effort encountered political obstacles and lawsuits at almost every turn.

In the end, some of the Biden administration’s most prominent racial equity proposals were stalled, scaled back or redesigned to be colorblind, including those aimed at helping Black farmers who have endured generations of racial discrimination.

As the Democratic nominee, Ms. Harris has been mindful of those setbacks.

During their 2020 presidential run, Ms. Harris narrated a campaign video featuring an illustration of a Black person climbing a mountain next to a white person, but starting from below ground level. She explained that equity is different from equality, suggesting that people who start with fewer resources should get more help so that everyone is on equal footing.