When 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden joined forces with Sen. Kamala Harris after announcing her as his running mate, the former vice president had no idea he had opened up the pink and green floodgates.
On Wednesday, the Roll Call, a source for news on Capitol Hill, reported that some donations to the DNC were arriving in strange increments.
Clayton Cox, the national finance director for the DNC, said he immediately started to receive donations in the amount of $19.08.
Cox admitted that seeing strange dollar amounts attached to donations wasn’t an anomaly. But as an active member of the Greek-lettered organizational system at his college, he was well-aware of the significance of the $19.08 amount.
“I’ve never seen people give in such a specific increment ever before,” Cox said.
“The week after she was announced, I was getting one every 15 minutes,” says Cox. “It was that frequent,” he added.
The dollar amount represents the founding year of the first Black sorority in the nation– Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc.
Sen. Kamala Harris, who was initiated into the Alpha Chapter at the historically-Black Howard University in 1986, has been overwhelmed with support by her sorority sisters and the organization itself.
Although the sorority itself hasn’t endorsed Harris, the IVYPAC endorsed the political heavy-hitter via a statement.
“A powerful voice on the Judiciary Committee, the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, the Budget Committee, and the Select Committee on Intelligence in the United States Senate, Senator Kamala Harris has been a steadfast representative for her constituents,” Ramona Prioleau, chair and co-founder of IVYPAC, described Sen. Harris.
“In addition, as a state official, Harris blazed a remarkable trail as a fearless advocate for the people of California,” she continued.
But it's not solely the women of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. who support Harris.
Larmender Davis, president of the Detroit Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., spoke to the Detroit Free Press about the impact Harris' nomination had on the Divine Nine organizations and Black women.
"We are ecstatic. Being the first to come from one of the Divine Nine organizations to rise to this level — we are so excited for her," Davis said.
"For me, it’s a confirmation of what I’ve always known and a lot of us have always known, and that’s the fact that Black women have the capability to lead," she continued.
During her acceptance speech for the Democratic vice president nomination, Harris shouted out her beloved sorority and HBCUs.
“Family is my beloved Alpha Kappa Alpha, our Divine 9 and my HBCU brothers and sisters,” she said.
The camaraderie, support and sisterhood from the members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. along with other organizations only reinforce the notion that Black women will show up and out for one another.
