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Immediately following President Joe Biden’s endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris after he stepped down from the 2024 race, Black women across the country went to work on Sunday to galvanize support for Harris’ Democratic nomination.
By the evening hours, their efforts culminated in a historic Zoom call of over forty thousand participants, mainly Black Women, featuring political leaders, faith leaders, community organizers, entertainers, and social media influencers. In a powerful display of grassroots support, participants on the call raised an impressive $1.5 million to back Harris’ presidential run.
The call was organized by the Win With Black Women Collective, an organization dedicated to elevating the voices and concerns of Black women in politics. In 2020, founder Jotaka Eaddy organized the first Win With Black Women Zoom call of 90 women to advocate for the critical role Black women voters would play in the 2020 election since then, the organization has grown to a network of over 4,000 women who have mobilized around issues including advocating for Black women in the U.S. Senate, the crucial 2020 Georgia runoff election, and support for the nomination of Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.
With Zoom links circulating via social media and email in the late afternoon on Sunday, Win With Black Women initially anticipated a maximum of a few thousand participants to discuss the impact of the day’s events on Black Women voters. The call was described as an “off the record” discussion with comments from Congresswomen and other Black women leaders. Organizers were preparing to start at 8:30pmEST, the call was already at capacity with thousands still trying to log on. After working with Zoom to shift the call into a webinar, 44,000 participants logged in with many remaining on the call after midnight.
“It’s time to get technical,” one speaker urged “We have to get in the streets and go knocking on doors. History will not miss us”. Another speaker who served as an HBCU president and longtime educator invoked the spirit of Black women leaders including Ella Baker, Shirley Chisholm, and Mary McLeod Bethune. “Don’t ever lose the faith in Black women” she continued “We are living in a moment where the United States can be led by someone who looks like us”.
Along with grassroots organizing, speakers on the call also emphasized the importance of fundraising support for Harris’ campaign. Once a link was established, participants took to their networks again to raise a million dollars over the next one hundred days. Despite being circulated after 11 PM EST, participants raised an astounding $1.5 million within three hours.
Win With Black Women’s momentum is part of a larger groundswell of enthusiasm about the prospects of a Kamala Harris presidency. The first two days after Biden’s endorsement, Harris raised 100 million dollars and earned enough delegate support to become the Democratic nominee. Of her chances at victory, speakers on the call pointed out that the voting power of Black women would be crucial to not only her success but the success of the Democratic Party overall. “Over [44,000] Black Women on the #WinWithBlackWomen call” one senator participant posted on social media, “underestimate us at your peril”.
