NY Black women electeds rallied for Harris on massive Sunday night Zoom call

A number of Black women politicians from New York quickly rallied behind Vice President Kamala Harris Sunday night, joining more than 45,000 participants across the nation for a Zoom call to show solidarity and support for her presidential campaign mere hours after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race.

New York City Council Member Selvena Brooks-Powers and Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson both posted on X about the massive call that had been organized by Win with Black Women – a group formed in 2020 to advocate for Black women in politics. Donations to support Harris’ campaign poured in during the call, which stretched late into the night, raising over $1.5 million in three hours, according to the group. New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, New York City Council Members Sandy Nurse and Nantasha Williams also participated in the call.

Gibson, the first woman and African American to represent the Bronx as borough president, watched the Zoom grow Sunday as thousands of Black women legislators, political leaders, senators, actresses, members of Congress, union leaders and more coalesced behind Harris. Throughout the lengthy call, organizers talked about what this moment means for women of color, acknowledged Biden’s decision to step down and shared information about Harris’ history and policy platform as well as action items on how to galvanize supporters.

The mood was one of excitement, Gibson recalled, but participants were also attuned to the realities Harris faces in what’s expected to be a tough battle against Trump. Recent polls show Harris narrowly trailing Trump nationally and in some key swing states. “We know it’s not going to be easy to beat Donald Trump,” she said. “I think the fact that she is a woman and a woman of color makes it even more difficult, but we want to focus on her record and her record of accomplishments and that she’s a proven leader.”

Pointing to long-standing low voter turnout in the Bronx, Gibson said she hopes to use her platform as borough president to encourage younger generations to back Harris. 

While Brooks-Powers declined to go into specifics about what was discussed during the Zoom, she said participants’ energy and passion was palpable – stronger than any she’d felt on a campaign for a long time. She left the call prepared to help any way she can, be it raising money or talking to members of her community and others in battleground states. “I’m willing to put my chucks on and dust them off a little bit,” Brooks-Powers said. 

She also emphasized that Harris is well qualified for the role of president, cautioning against categorizing her as just a woman or a woman of color.

“As a woman, as a woman of color, I obviously have a great level of pride for that, but even more of my pride comes from the fact that she’s qualified,” Brooks-Powers said. “She was an attorney general in as huge of a state as California. She was a senator, she’s been vice president for four years. She’s more qualified than Donald Trump.”

Nurse tried several times to join the Zoom but was unsuccessful given the number of people participating. Managing to catch the tail end of it though, she was heartened by what she saw as an “unbelievable ability to mobilize.”

“Democrats by and large felt a sense of relief, felt a sense that we were heading in a very unstable direction and there was not a clear path to victory. Now there’s a chance and we have someone who is younger, energized, and represents something that we’ve never seen before. That’s exciting,” she told City & State, adding that while Harris isn’t “the perfect person,” she’s the best option – one that Democrats need to coalesce around. Nurse said she plans to join and host phone banks and work with her colleagues to mobilize New York voters.

Already the first woman, first Black person and first Asian American to serve as vice president, the increasing likelihood of Harris becoming the first woman of color at the top of a major-party presidential ticket – and with it, her potential ascension to the presidency – would only further make history. That possibility on the heels of Biden’s Sunday exit appeared to inject fresh energy into the presidential race. A wave of donations and endorsements has steadily poured in for Harris over the past 24 hours. New York has been no exception. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffires aside, a slew of New York elected officials have steadily voiced their support for Harris. 

In a state known for its Black political power, support for Harris may be particularly important. While many Black New York elected officials weren’t on the Sunday night call, some leaders have already gone beyond offering a simple endorsement. Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins told City & State that she was looking forward to doing everything in her power to help elect the country’s first Black woman president. New York Attorney General Letitia James announced she was leading a coalition of the nation’s six Black state attorney generals to back Harris for president.