The Daily Populous Saturday August 10th, 2024 day edition
Authored by salon.com and submitted by Entropologic

Kamala Harris appears to have one more group backing her campaign today, with which she has a deep history.

Alpha Kappa Alpha, the historically Black sorority Harris joined as a student at Howard University, filed paperwork with the Federal Elections Commission on Friday to launch a PAC, ahead of the 2024 race.

The sorority, which already boasts a voter mobilization operation filed to create the “AKA AKA 1908 PAC,” connected to the organization’s Chicago headquarters.

With over a thousand national chapters, Alpha Kappa Alpha is the largest of the Divine Nine members, a grouping of historically Black fraternities and sororities with 2.5 million members nationwide and a tradition of civic and political engagement.

Harris, a proud Alpha Kappa Alpha member, spoke last month at the group’s annual conference in Dallas to crowds donning the group’s signature salmon pink and apple green, and championing the sorority's impact on her career’s trajectory.

The powerful group, which raised hundreds of thousands of dollars and “Strolled to the Polls” for Harris in 2020, is in a position to mobilize millions of Black voters in key swing states across the country.

Black voters are enthusiastic about Harris’ candidacy, with a recent NPR/PBS/Marist poll showing an explosive gain from a 23-point lead in July amongst Black voters to a 54-point lead with Harris at the top of the ticket.

Still, despite her AKA membership and racial background, opponent Donald Trump has spent the last week accusing Harris of “turn[ing] Black,” a claim which many Black political figures pushed back against.

wellarmedsheep on August 10th, 2024 at 00:58 UTC »

I'm a white dude, so I didn't really understand Black sororities and fraternities until a black friend explained them to me. I may get some details wrong so forgive me.

My friend graduated from Howard as well, thirty years after she graduated, her sorority was still a major part of her life. Her husband, in his forties, pledged the fraternity that was associated with her organization.

My point in saying this is that many people hear sorority or fraternity and think of college kids drinking. But traditionally black sororities and fraternities view it as a lifelong commitment. It's members are super active and connected well into their adulthood. So my take on this is that you have highly educated, community-minded, and politically active women forming a political action committee... Not a bunch of college kids.

roj2323 on August 10th, 2024 at 00:47 UTC »

Trump should be scared. That sorority has got some heavy hitters and they don't fuck around. This will be an extremely well funded PAC.

MagicBingo on August 10th, 2024 at 00:45 UTC »

Trump: "..... and she all of sudden became..... Black...."