Vice President Harris addresses members of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority on July 10 at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas.
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Alpha Kappa Alpha, Inc. has formed a political action committee to provide the country’s oldest black fraternity with a way to raise funds to support federal candidates.
Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris is an alumna of the sorority, which is part of the Holy Nine group of historically black fraternities and sororities that has more than 250 members nationwide. million active members, making the groups a focus of the campaign even before Biden dropped out of the race on July 21.
The sorority’s new political action committee, which complements an existing coordinated campaign among the organizations to register voters, educate and mobilize, is the latest sign of growing enthusiasm for Harris among Black Americans, whose early and enthusiastic support helped secure Harris’ uncontested coast-to-coast path to the nomination after Biden dropped out.
In the hours after President Biden announced he was withdrawing and endorsing Harris, Win with Black Women political action committee raised more than $1.5 million in a Zoom donation event and inspired a wave of similar efforts. Tens of millions of dollars were raised.
Harris now leads former President Trump 51%-48%, in part due to her strength among black women and broader voters of color, according to the latest NPR/PBS News/Marist poll.
That strength is expected to make some states that once appeared to be losing sway for Democrats under the Biden-Harris campaign, including Georgia and North Carolina, to become competitive in November.
NPR reached out to Alpha Kappa Alpha for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
