‘One of our own’: How Harris is leaning into the power of Black sororities (2024)

INDIANAPOLIS — Amid a sea of dark blue dresses and white blazers, Kamala Harris took the stage on Wednesday to deliver the keynote at Zeta Phi Beta sorority’s Grand Boulé — a six-day gathering held in Indianapolis this year.

“You helped elect Joe Biden president and me as the first woman vice president of the United States, and I’m thankful,” Harris said to more than 6,000 sorority members. “And now, in this moment, our nation needs your leadership once again. I believe we face a choice between two different visions for our nation: one focused on the future, the other focused on the past. And with your support, I am fighting for our nation’s future.”

The past few days have been hectic for Harris: Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race and endorsed her; a record-breaking deluge of donations came within 24 hours; and enough Democratic delegates signaled support to back Harris as the party’s nominee. Zeta Phi Beta is one of four Black sororities — which constitute about a quarter of a million Black women — in the National Pan-Hellenic Council, a nine-member collaborative for Black Greek-letter organizations that’s often referred to as the Divine Nine.

Harris, an Alpha Kappa Alpha member, has attended nearly a dozen engagements with other Divine Nine sororities and fraternities since taking office as vice president — including most recently when she spoke at her own sorority’s Boulé in Dallas on July 10. The event on Wednesday was the first Harris has attended since Biden dropped out of the race.

In her remarks, Harris highlighted the White House’s commitment to making health care, child care, elder care and paid family leave more affordable and available. Harris also criticized former President Donald Trump’s platform for reelection, his picks for the Supreme Court and his efforts to limit access to abortion.

“When I am president of the United States,” Harris said, pausing to the sound of cheers and a standing ovation, “and when Congress passes a law to restore those [reproductive] freedoms, I will sign it into law. We are not playing around.”

Ashley C.J. Daniels, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, Irvine, and the project director for the Black Girls Vote research network, celebrated Harris’ attendance at various Black sorority events and the Essence Festival of Culture. She drew attention to how critical engaging with Black women will be on the road to November.

“Comparing her first presidential campaign to this one now, it seems that her campaign has gotten the message that there is no winning without Black women. But on top of that there is no winning without Black women, you have to be in their spaces,” said Daniels, who is a member of the sorority Delta Sigma Theta. “It’s just my hope that even though it’s looking like Harris is going to get the nomination, that doesn’t stop the momentum from continuing to engage and foster and have conversations with these communities, despite that outcome.”

On Monday, for the first time the Divine Nine released a joint commitment to put forward an “unprecedented voter registration, education, ad mobilization campaign that would activate thousands of their combined chapters to ensure strong voter turnout.”

Tanzanique Carrington, an educator from Milwaukee, said she and several others, regardless of party affiliation, were enthused by Biden’s endorsem*nt of Harris and the idea that she would bring something new to the race. “We’re just kind of celebrating that one of our own is in a position,” said Carrington, who is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. She added, “We have members who belong to all different party affiliates, but her being a member of our organization does make this a very historic and momentous occasion.”

Dr. Stacie NC Grant, the president and chief executive of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., said her organization is nonpartisan and does not endorse any political candidate or party over the other. Still, she said she was honored and excited to welcome Harris to Indianapolis for Wednesday’s keynote, especially now that Harris is likely to become the Democratic nominee for president.

“This moment puts a focal point on our collective influence of our communities and the many distinguished members across our respective organizations who have united together to distill information this election season and get the nation to ‘stroll to the polls’ with us,” Grant said in a statement.

Sign up for more news and context delivered to your inbox, daily

On Sunday night, more than 44,000 Black women hopped on a Zoom call with Win With Black Women, a collective that strategizes and fundraises to support Black women in policy and politics. Over the course of four hours, they raised $1.6 million. Many of the women on this call were members of Harris’ sorority.

“Support infrastructures are not serving all women. So, traditional women’s political organizations don’t necessarily serve all groups of women of color at the intersections of race and gender,” Kelly Dittmar, the director of research at the Center for American Women and Politics, said at a press briefing on Wednesday. “Where sororities fit there in many ways, particularly for Black women’s sororities, is to be a type of support infrastructure and network,” she said, especially in terms of fundraising and mobilization.