Kamala Harris' candidacy re-energizes efforts among Black schools, community groups to mobilize voters

Hours after President Joe Biden bowed out of the presidential race last Sunday and Vice President Kamala Harris was vaulted into being the presumptive Democratic nominee, more than 44,000 Black women joined a Zoom call to strategize about her candidacy.

And that Zoom, promoted under the hashtag #WinWithBlackWomen, reportedly garnered $1.5 million for Harris in three hours.

The extraordinary call has led to others, drawing enormous support for Harris from other Black voters and diverse groups.

Black men followed suit the next day, with the hashtag #WinWithBlackMen attracting about 53,000 men and also raising more than $1 million for Harris, according to media reports. "Black Gay and Queer Men for Harris" announced Thursday on X, formerly Twitter, that they were holding a streaming event that night to "provide information and resources for navigating the 2024 election."

Coalitions made up of historically Black colleges and universities, as well as national and community-based political groups, had already been playing a key role in this year's presidential race. But now with Harris, who has a South Asian and Jamaican heritage, these groups appear to have renewed energy and interest in November's election — potentially galvanizing support for a candidate who has set historic precedents just by being in the race.

The mission: to educate and mobilize voters, some organizations' leaders say.

An invigorated effort to get out the vote

Rochelle Kelly-Apson, a lobbyist and political and business development consultant from Hempstead, said she joined the Win With Black Women Zoom event because: "I'm a Black woman who cares about the fate of the country."

Kelly-Apson also is president of Black Voters of Long Island and for the past two years has produced voter engagement activities, events and a voters guide. She said she was "already in alignment" with the goal of the Black women’s Zoom call. "But it was inspiring to see other folks being invigorated or newly invigorated," she said.

There’s something liberating watching over 40,000 Black women and allies, including men, getting on the phone and acknowledging how do we get her, a Black and Asian woman, elected. 

— Laura Harding, president of ERASE Racism

Credit: gbestellephotos

Laura Harding, president of ERASE Racism, a Syosset-based civil rights group, cited the nonpartisan nature of her organization. But in observing social media posts surrounding Harris and after briefly listening to the Black women’s Zoom call, she said, "There’s something liberating watching over 40,000 Black women and allies, including men, getting on the phone and acknowledging how do we get her, a Black and Asian woman, elected.

"This type of coalition building," she said, "this is what we need in this country. This is what we need on Long Island, not only around elections, but also around major issues like housing and education."

The recharged effort also has shone a spotlight on the political role of Black fraternities and sororities and historically Black colleges and universities, or HBCUs, because of Harris’ connection to both.

Harris is an undergraduate alumna of Howard University in Washington, D.C., where she became a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, founded on Howard’s campus in 1908. The sorority is the oldest Greek-letter organization "established by African American college-educated women," according to its website.

Such an intersection of the Black fraternities and sororities with other Black civic, educational and political organizations has proved significant in the social and political progress of African Americans over many decades, said Fatima Logan-Alston, an African American history and American Studies adjunct professor at SUNY Old Westbury.

She also highlighted what she considered the impactful role of social media, which showed a "shift from what was a disappointment, in terms of Biden bowing out, to having this new type of representation and opportunity," through Harris. "And quickly." It was, Logan-Alston said, "really exciting and impactful."

But she added that while there’s excitement, there is also hesitation.

One question, she said, is: "Can she be successful with all these other aspects not being in her favor, in terms of her ethnicity and her gender? Hillary Clinton was not able to capture the electoral votes that she needed." 

There is a "lot of excitement" around Harris, she said. "But it’s still up in the air. We have to see how it plays out."

[There's been a] shift from what was a disappointment, in terms of  Biden bowing out, to having this new type of representation and opportunity.

 — Fatima Logan-Alston, an African American history and American Studies adjunct professor at SUNY Old Westbury

Credit: Fatima Logan-Alston

Local representatives of the AKA sorority referred Newsday to its national headquarters in Chicago for comment about how Harris’ entry into the presidential race would affect the sorority’s approach to the upcoming election.

Key role for sororities, fraternities 

While noting the nonprofit, nonpartisan nature of Alpha Kappa Alpha Inc., the sorority’s international president and chief executive, Danette Anthony Reed, said in a statement to Newsday: "As an organization composed mainly of Black women who have influenced the American democratic landscape, we hold a unique perspective on Vice President Kamala Harris vying for the Democratic nomination in this year’s election.

"Her candidacy represents significant progress in this nation toward women and communities of color, as she embodies the values and aspirations we have long championed. Seeing a WOMAN rise to such a prominent position fills us with pride and hope for a future where diversity and equality are at the forefront of decision-making."

Reed added that the sorority "has implemented the Advocate for Social Justice Program Initiative to engage voters during this election cycle to empower communities to advocate for change and participate in local, state and national elections."

Seeing a WOMAN rise to such a prominent position fills us with pride and hope for a future where diversity and equality are at the forefront of decision-making.

— Danette Anthony Reed, Alpha Kappa Alpha Inc.’s international president and chief executive

Credit: Smiley N. Pool via AP

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. is part of the "Divine 9" of Black fraternities and sororities, the nickname of the historically Black Greek-letter organizations known as the National Pan-Hellenic Council Inc.

Willis L. Lonzer III, who is chair of council presidents, talked with Newsday about the organizations’ intense voter education and mobilization plans that he said started before Harris entered the presidential race.

"The point is all nine organizations have a focus on getting out the vote," said Lonzer, of Chicago, who is also general president of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. He said this election "was going to be the most consequential in history." He said the fraternities and sororities, in concert with other organizations "that serve our community," were working "to make sure citizens get out to vote in 2024."

"This is a part of our plan. When we met with the president and vice president, we wanted to talk to them about what they had done, so we, as a nonpartisan organization, can clearly educate our communities on their accomplishments," Lonzer said.

He said while the fraternities and sororities were nonpartisan, eight of them had political action committees independent of their fraternities or sororities, enabling them to be politically active, as can individual members of the organizations overall.

Asked whether Harris’ effort to seek the Democratic nomination for president had enlivened the Divine 9’s voter engagement plans, Lonzer said: "I’m not sure I could interpret it as enthusiasm based on that. But I think it’s a sense of urgency around our democracy that has been the driver of this. There is an urgency around the security of our democracy, our form of government ... Our membership is super excited and mobilized to build on our work."

There is an urgency around the security of our democracy, our form of government … Our membership is super excited and mobilized ...

— Willis L. Lonzer III, chair of presidents for the National Pan-Hellenic Council Inc.

Credit: Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc.

He said "conservatively," the "Divine 9" membership numbers around 1.5 million to 2 million, "and it could escalate higher, in terms of the people we know and influence." 

Logan-Alston said Black sororities and fraternities, HBCUs and other Black organizations have long played substantial roles in "support of the progress of Black Americans in society."

Additionally, she said, "The social media response is really something, I think, to pay attention to because this is a day and age when social media is a major part of any kind of campaign and movement now. With the support for Harris, we’re talking definitely about ... her connection to Black sororities and HBCUs. But she’s not just African American," the professor said.

"We see this support, in terms of diversity representation, and what that means for America playing out on social media," Logan-Alston said.

Harris’ candidacy for president is also exciting for the South Asian community, said State Sen. Kevin Thomas (D-Levittown), who is Indian American.

There’s a major effort around the country right now to raise money to mobilize the South Asian community and go forward with winning this election.

— State Sen. Kevin Thomas (D-Levittown), who is Indian American

Credit: James Escher

Thomas said he has formed a political action committee, which he calls Ninety3 PAC — "it stands for the number of electoral votes needed in the seven swing states" — to raise money "to target the South Asian community" in the swing states of Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. He said he has raised nearly $100,000 so far.

"We were excited when President Biden picked her as the vice president back in the 2020 election cycle," he said. "To see one of our own to potentially be the next president of the United States is huge for us."

By Olivia Winslow

olivia.winslow@newsday.com@newsollie