The first sorority established for Black women, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., has filed paperwork to form a political action committee (PAC). The new PAC, titled the 1908 PAC, will allow the organization to create the runway in order to raise money in support of federal candidates.
This announcement compliments AKA’s voter registration, education and mobilization campaigns. Vice President Kamala Harris, who is a member, recently spoke to crowds at the annual convention, Boulé, in Dallas in July. She was rocking the group’s signature salmon pink and apple green while championing the sorority’s impact on her career’s trajectory.
“You are such an incredible part of my journey and I love you guys,” she said, as members shouted “skee-wee,” the sorority’s signature call.
Four years ago at the Democratic National Convention, Harris extolled the virtues of AKA.
“Family is my beloved Alpha Kappa Alpha, our Divine Nine, and my HBCU brothers and sisters,” Harris said at the time.
After President Biden announced he would not run for reelection on July 21st, support quickly coalesced around Harris. Later in the day, a group of 44,000 women, largely made up of AKA members, raised $1.5 million for her campaign.
The sorority network includes prominent Democratic donors like Wanda Sykes, Ava DuVernay, who have expressed support for Harris.
The powerful organization raised hundreds of thousands of dollars and “Strolled to the Polls” for Harris in 2020. Currently, AKA is poised to mobilize and organize millions of Black voters in key swing states across the country.
Vice President Kamala Harris pledged at the sorority’s Alpha Chapter at Howard University in 1986. Harris is part of a membership class, ‘The 38 Jewels of Iridescent Splendor,’ a line that consisted of thirty-eight women. Thirty-eight years later, the organization is preparing to participate in what they refer to as, “a serious matter.”
In 2023, Alpha Kappa Alpha created their own credit union, “For Members Only.” FMO is the first Black-owned, women-led, sorority-based digital banking financial institution in the United States. The reason being was to create economic health and financial stability for Black women and women of color.
As far as the polls are concerned, they are reflective of the rising enthusiasm with the Harris campaign. Harris leads Michigan by two points, Pennsylvania by 1.1 points and Wisconsin by 1.8 points, according to the average of swing state polls by FiveThirtyEight. Former President Donald Trump leads in Arizona by less than half a point. He also leads in Georgia by half a point.