Watch: The Divine Nine and HBCUs could be critical for Kamala Harris
On this week’s episode of “The Hill with April Ryan,” Dr. Glenda Glover, head of the Harris campaign’s Divine Nine and HBCU outreach, talks about capitalizing on the momentum of support for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris.
Most importantly, she and other members of historically Black sororities and fraternities want to ensure that their enthusiasm results in high turnout to election polls in November and that their votes are protected.
“This is bigger than one sorority or fraternity,” said Glover, who initially headed the HBCU Divine Nine initiative for the Biden campaign before transitioning into the same role within the newly launched Harris campaign.
Glover is a friend of Kamala Harris and the former international president of the vice president’s sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. She is also the former president of Tennessee State University. She told theGrio that the collective HBCU and Divine Nine communities represent 12 to 13 million voters. Those numbers are critical to a Harris win on Nov. 5.
According to Pew Research, in 2022, 47.9 million people in the United States self-identified as Black, 14.4% of the country’s population. On a related note, the growing Hispanic population, which is also energizing for Harris, reached a record high of 58 million in 2016.
The campaign’s engagement efforts include working with poll workers and attorneys to ensure the protection of voting rights as key provisions have been eliminated under the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by the United States Supreme Court.
Glover affirms the campaign is “ready to go to court” and “ready to get injunctions” to prevent votes being “stolen” in an effort to elect Republican nominee Donald Trump.
Glover said “tenacity” and “ambition” will ensure Black voters are shielded from voter suppression and allowed to exercise their civic duty and potentially make history at the ballot box.