ATLANTA >> In Atlanta, a group of Black entertainers and elected officials took the stage at a brewery to urge a crowd of Black men to support Vice President Kamala Harris. In Milwaukee, dozens of volunteers fanned out across Black neighborhoods to encourage sometimes skeptical residents to vote. And in a blitz of national media interviews and campaign ads, Harris herself made her case to Black voters.

The flood of recent door-knocking, ads, rallies and celebrity-studded outreach events across battleground states reflects Democrats’ growing alarm about their weakening support among Black voters — a yearslong drift that the party’s leaders have not confronted so directly, and with the stakes so high, until now.

A New York Times/Siena College poll last week found that Harris was underperforming President Joe Biden’s support with Black voters in 2020 by roughly 10 percentage points, and by 15 points among Black men — a drop-off that could doom her fortunes. The poll found that former President Donald Trump was making inroads, with 15% of Black voters saying they would back him.

Interviews with more than three dozen Black voters, strategists and elected officials offered a complicated picture of a politically powerful group of Americans whose waning devotion to the Democratic Party stems partly from a feeling that their decades of loyalty has delivered little in return. The party now finds itself in the unfamiliar position of needing to treat Black Americans as voters who must be persuaded to support them, rather than unflinching supporters who will back liberal candidates without a second thought.

Young Black men in particular say they feel disillusioned by the political system and do not see how Harris’ policies could help them. Their apathy and frustration with Democrats have provided an opening for Trump.

Trump has improved his standing with Black voters despite a long history of racist remarks and the sporadic, sometimes ham-handed and occasionally offensive nature of his outreach.

On Monday, Harris’ campaign released a policy agenda targeted heavily at Black men. The plan includes forgiving a portion of small-business loans; supporting mentorship and apprenticeship programs; and a program that would help stem health inequities for Black men.

In part, the measures offered something of a rebuttal to criticisms that the Democratic Party has neglected Black men.

“While Vice President Harris is promising to equip Black men with the tools needed to pursue our dreams and aspirations,” said Cedric Richmond, a Harris campaign co-chair, “Donald Trump is promising Black America a national nightmare.”

One of Harris’ most stubborn challenges is dissatisfaction with the economic record of her governing partner, Biden.

Many Black men, in particular, struggled with job losses during the pandemic and with the rising cost of living since then. Republicans have pointed to higher prices to criticize Harris, who they say could have helped push through economic policies to aid Black workers.

Still, some Black men remain on the fence, or are leaning toward Harris.

As part of what she calls an economic “opportunity agenda,” Harris has proposed to cap rent increases and provide up to $25,000 for first-time homebuyers.

Though Simuel is skeptical about Harris’ plans for the economy, he said, she may have his vote because of abortion rights.

“She’s trying to put those rights back into women’s hands,” he said.