It pays to be Vice President Kamala Harris this week.
Harris raised a record-breaking $81 million in donations for her campaign within 24 hours of President Joe Biden dropping out of the race, and the fundraising didn’t stop there. Nearly 100,000 black men and women raised over two million dollars within 48 hours of her announcing her presidential bid.
On Monday, journalist and Black Star Network founder Roland Martin co-hosted a “Black Men for Harris” call that raised $1.3 million in four hours for Harris’ campaign. More than 50,000 people joined the stream including John Legend, Don Lemon, Hill Harper, Don Cheadle, Will Packer, Cory Booker, Emil Wilbekin, Sen. Raphael Warnock, and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore.
Some on the call joked that it felt more like a frat meeting than fundraiser at times, with several black fraternities representing throughout the evening.
Several guests including Sen. Warnock and Gov. Moore, shared personal stories about Harris.
CNN contributor Bakari Sellers, who also organized the call, was brought to tears remembering when Harris “stood with me during my darkest moment, when I almost lost my daughter.” (Sellers’ daughter was born with a rare liver condition and received a liver transplant at eight months old in 2019).
“Let’s protect Kamala. Let’s be with her, like she was there with us,” he said.
Over 44,000 black women joined a Zoom call for Harris on Sunday that raised, $1.5 million. Jenifer Lewis, Bevy Smith, and Yvette Nicole Brown were a few notables on that call. And we hear white women are following suit with their own. Moms Demand founder, Shannon Watts, tweeted out a call “to organize a white women conference call like the Black women and men have to support Vice President Kamala Harris.” Maria Shriver has already signed on. The call is scheduled to happen on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Beyonce, arguably the most powerful woman in entertainment, has yet to officially endorse Harris, but is supporting through her song. CNN’s Elizabeth Wagmeister reported the singer granted Harris permission to use her song “Freedom” on the campaign trail. Harris is already putting the song to use. She walked out to it at a stop in Wilmington, Del, on Monday night, and again in Wisconsin on Tuesday.
President Biden is planning to address the nation on Wednesday, where he will further explain his decision to leave the race and endorse his VP.
