Kamala Harris
Kamala HarrisTrump ‘failure’ on COVID-19 will be central message of Biden Convention Biden and Harris send condolences to Trump after the death of his brother Trump planning event to oppose Biden acceptance speech MAY has support from an unconventional angle as they try to become the next vice president of the country: their sorority sisters.
A number of women in the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. (AKA), the nation’s oldest African-American sorority, say they plan to help Joe Biden
Joe BidenBiden’s leadership over Trump merges in new national interview Biden fights obstacles in bid to remove ties with US allies Trump ‘failure’ on COVID-19 will be central message of Biden convention MORE elected after he named her sorority sister as his running mate.
While the sorority does not support political candidates, women in the organization say they support the Biden-Harris ticket in their individual capacity as part of an effort to help install Harris, a member of the group, as the first Black Vice -president of the nation.
While Harris, who is of Jamaican and Native American descent, made history this week when she became the first Black woman and first Native American to be selected to run for Vice President at a major party, her selection was for VP a first in other ways, too.
Harris secured the distinction of being the first graduate of a historic Black college or university (HBCU) to become a running mate on a major party presidential card, as well as the first person from an African-American Greek literal sorority to such a ticket.
HCBU leaders and others in their sisterhood praised the performance this week.
Glenda Glover, international president of the AKA and president of Tennessee State University, a renowned HBCU, called Harris’ bid Biden a “full circle moment” for African-American Greek organizations as well as for historic Black universities.
The decision, Glover said, speaks to “volumes for Black women.”
It “sends a message to little Black girls, little Asian girls, little Indian girls, all little girls that if you see it, you can be it,” Glover said in an interview with The Hill.
Glover returned to Shirley Chisholm, the first African-American woman elected to Congress and the first African-American woman to run for the Democratic presidential nomination, and hailed the Harris pick as “in the mind of Shirley Chisholm.”
And although the AKA is a non-profit organization and will not support political candidates, Glover said it plans to participate in independent body efforts to help the Biden-Harris campaign.
DeVetta Hughes, an AKA member and former cluster coordinator for the South Atlanta region, said she is also committed to working independently to assist the California senator as vice president.
‘I accept it. I have re-engaged in voter turnout, voter registration, education and mobilization, ”said Hughes.
She added that other members of the sorority, known for their community outreach and dedication to service, are excited to take part in a push-out-the-vote push.
Hughes, an education professional, previously helped support Harris when she ran in the Democratic presidential primary, before ending her campaign late last year.
Hughes said some of her sorority sisters are ‘energized’ and ‘over the moon’ that Harris has been named as Biden’s running mate. They have looked at ideas as older voters help with absentee ballots and ensure that ballots are submitted on time.
Minyon Moore, a veteran political strategist and former Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonTrump ‘failure’ on COVID-19 will be central message from Biden Convention Gun control groups seek convention momentum Democrats with ‘rising stars’ in convention keynotes MORE adviser, told The Hill this week that she thinks supporting women within Harris’ sorority and other African-American Greek organizations could help get the Democratic ticket.
The sorority has nearly 300,000 members, and includes figures such as Ava DuVernay, Iyanla Vanzant and Jada Pinkett-Smith among its members.
Moore said such support could be “critical”, especially given the coronavirus pandemic, because sorority members “have natural ways of communicating with their members, which has probably been online.”
“They can set up buddy systems for older members who now have to do a mail-in vote rather than an online vote of absenteeism. [or] ask for absent votes, ”Moore said. “And that’s why I see their role as very important, because they always educate.”
‘This will just be an election about innovation, about groups of organized people who can borrow their talent and resources … It’s going to be a daughter-mother election. It will be a father-son election because it is a different kind of election, not only because we have a historic candidate, but because we have historical obstacles, ”she said.
Carla Mannings, a member of the sorority initiated by Harris at Howard University in 1986, said she was not at all surprised by some of the rapid support her lineage sister already sees from women in ‘ the organization.
‘I would be surprised if it did not happen,’ Mannings told The Hill, adding that when women join the sorority ‘it is’ a life longing’ for them.
“We take sisterhood very seriously and we take services seriously,” she said.
Mannings, who works as an executive community building developer, said Harris exhibited many of the leadership qualities “you see in her now,” such as dedication and hard work.
Their sorority has a long history of social advocacy and combating racism, dating back more than a century.
Mannings said Harris “was active in on-campus social justice activities” and “participated early and often in on-campus political and student activism events, such as anti-apartheid rallies” along with other members of sorority.
“I mean, we’re still talking today about social, rational injustice with Black women. That, you know, it was a very tough back in the ’80s,” Mannings said.
Glynda Carr, founder and CEO of Higher Heights for America, pointed to Harris’ ties to AKA and Howard, saying she believes the senator “has access to the kinds of networks that made her the leader she is.” , “like their identity, will help strengthen the Democratic ticket.
Carr, who is a member of the sorority and also a board member of the nonpartisan women’s coalition ReflectUS, emphasizes the “power” of the organizations’ “informal network” and the “pride to see someone coming from our tradition. ”
She pointed to recent presidential elections in which Black female voters play a pivotal role, specifically when former President Obama was in the polls in 2008 and 2012.
Glover agreed that Black women “will make [a] difference ”again this year, emphasizing the importance of casting the ballot.
“It’s time to get a return in the ballot box,” she said.
Carr questioned her belief about emerging in November.
‘When you fire a black woman, she’s not just going to the polls. She brings her house, her block, her church, sorority and her union, ‘she said.
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