Kamala Harris Has Black Women Rallying Around in Her Support Hours After Biden Drops Out

Hours after President Joe Biden stepped down from the Democratic ticket, Vice President Kamala Harris swiftly became the focal point of a powerful and energetic movement. Black women, poised to play a major role in the upcoming election, mobilized and rapidly arranged fundraising bids. For instance, on July 21, an advocacy group, Win With Black Women, raised an impressive $1.5 million within just three hours.

The group also organized an impromptu Zoom call that drew more than 44,000 Black women, to strategize on the best ways to support Harris, Washington Examiner reported. The meeting, initially at capacity, saw organizer Jotaka Eaddy scrambling to expand its size to accommodate the surge in participants. The call featured some of the nation’s most prominent Black leaders, including Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH), the immediate past chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus. Reflecting on the personal significance of this moment, Beatty told MSNBC, “For us, it’s personal, and we stand with Vice President Harris.”

Other notable attendees included Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), a vocal critic of former President Donald Trump, Donna Brazile, former interim chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX), a rising star within the Democratic Party, and Melanie Campbell, president and CEO of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation. During the call, participants were encouraged to share a graphic on social media to lend their support for Harris.

Harris, already a trailblazer as the first US Black and Asian American vice president, now has the chance to make history once more. If elected, she would become the nation's first Black woman president and its second Black president following Barack Obama. However, securing the formal Democratic nomination will be the first critical step.

With the national convention in Chicago just weeks away, the Democratic National Committee's rules committee is set to meet on Wednesday to establish a transparent and fair framework for selecting a new nominee. Meanwhile, Trump continues to galvanize the GOP. Republicans have already begun to attack Harris, attempting to tie her to the challenges faced during Biden’s tenure and labeling her as "radical."

While Harris is likely to solidify support among Black women, who remain the Democrats' most loyal voting bloc, she will need to focus on gaining the backing of Black men, a group that Trump and his allies are actively courting. “We got four months to continue to work to make sure that we get people, particularly Black males, to the polls,” Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-TX) previously told Washington Examiner. “President Trump gets 25% of the Black male vote. It’s mathematically not even a conversation.” However, Black female leaders are still mainly in agreement with Harris. “I am confident that she will have the delegates. She will have the resources, and she will have the volunteers,” Brazile told ABC's David Muir.