Anika Begay
Vice President Harris speaks to members of Alpha Kappa Alpha fraternity at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center on July 10 in Dallas.
Images by Brandon Bell
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Images by Brandon Bell
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Alpha Kappa Alpha, Inc. has formed a political action committee, enabling the country’s oldest black student fraternity to raise funds to support federal candidates.
Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris is a sorority alumna, part of the “Divine Nine” group of historic Black fraternities and sororities that together have more than 2.5 million active members across the country, and she made the groups a focal point of the campaign, even before Biden dropped out of the race on July 21. Harris spoke at AKA’s annual convention in Houston earlier that month.
The sorority’s new political action committee, which integrates a coordinated voter registration, education and outreach campaign across the organizations, is the latest sign of a groundswell of enthusiasm for Harris among African Americans, whose early and enthusiastic support has helped ensure Harris has an unstoppable path to the nomination after Biden’s withdrawal.
In the hours immediately following President Biden’s resignation and his endorsement of Harris, the Win With Black Women political action committee launched a fundraiser for more than $1.5 million via a Zoom donation drive, sparking a wave of similar efforts that have raised tens of millions of dollars more.
Now, according to the latest NPR/PBS News/Marist poll, Harris has a 51%-48% lead over former President Trump, due in part to her strength among black women and voters of color overall.
This strength is expected to make several states competitive in November that once seemed out of reach for Democrats on the Biden-Harris ticket, including Georgia and North Carolina.
NPR reached out to Alpha Kappa Alpha for comment, but did not immediately respond.
