MIAMI — Inspired by last month’s zoom call for Black women that raised $1.6 million for Kamala Harris, a Miami organizer hosted a virtual meeting Tuesday night to mobilize Caribbean and African women to back the Harris campaign.
The call included several South Florida Democratic political leaders and other supporters who hope it’s just the start of an expanding campaign to boost the hopes of Harris, the first Black female presidential nominee in American history and a candidate with family roots in the Caribbean.
Harris could use the support as she and Donald Trump are running neck-and-neck in Miami-Dade, according to a new Republican poll that shows Harris and Trump tied at 47% each.
The vice president has garnered support among South Florida’s Caribbean community, including a car caravan traveling from Little Haiti to North Miami earlier this month. However, not everyone is sold. Several members of South Florida’s Jamaican community spoke with the Herald and voiced concerns about Harris’ ability to beat Trump, while others want more clarity on her stances on student loan forgiveness and the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Call organizer Carmen Morris, who was born in Jamaica but moved to Miami at age 11, arranged the Zoom outreach in collaboration with Florida Caribbean Vote Director, Nancy Bowen. Sharing Harris’ Jamaican ancestry, Morris believes it is important for the Caribbean community to be represented among the chorus of support.
Morris also attended the Aug. 1 Caribbeans for Harris national call but felt a coalition including the African community was necessary — citing Miami Gardens’ burgeoning Nigerian community. “We stand united together, Caribbean, African and U.S. sisters to support her,” Morris said at the beginning of the call. ‘SOMEONE WHO’S BEEN FIGHTING FOR US FOR SO LONG’
A video from the Harris campaign played and listed her accomplishments which, according to the video, included capping the cost of insulin for seniors as vice-president and going after big banks to win $20 billion for homeowners when she served as California’s Attorney General.
The first Haitian-American Democrat elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, Florida congresswoman, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, said that this call provided an opportunity to “fight for someone who’s been fighting for all of us for so long.” Citing a trip with Harris to Ghana, the congresswoman, who serves on the foreign affairs committee with a focus on Sub-Saharan Africa, stressed that Harris is committed to strengthening relations between the U.S. and Africa.
She also noted that as the daughter of two immigrant parents —a Jamaican father and an Indian mother —Harris understands the plight of those trying to find success in a foreign environment.
Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (FL-20) hosts a press conference regarding the ongoing crisis in Haiti on Monday, March 11, 2024 in Fort Lauderdale. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Joe Cavaretta South Florida Sun Sentinel
“When we talk about the American dream, it means something very different for us, being from the Caribbean and being from Africa,” Cherfilus-McCormick said on the call. “We know what it actually feels like to leave your country, to come into a new country where you don’t even speak the language, you don’t know the customs, and you come to a community and you’re trying to make it.”
Harris’ empathy, she said, contrasts with Republican leaders who use fear mongering to disparage the Caribbean and Africa.
Author Winsone Bingham spoke about how her children’s book, The Walk, was inspired by her childhood in Fort Lauderdale where her grandmother would gather children in the neighborhood to walk with her to the voting polls. Even though children can’t vote, the military vet with Jamaican ancestry, stressed the importance of investing in them so they know to lend their voices to those who have their best interests.
Miami-Dade County School Board Member, Dr. Dorothy Bendross-Mindinghall similarly focused on the consideration of children, emphasizing the impact of local government.
“We have to remember to vote down the ballot, because it’s wonderful to have somebody on a school board that knows how to fight and stand up for our children,” she said.
Former political action chair for Florida State University’s NAACP chapter, Michelle Gunn provided the call’s Gen Z representation. She noted that her peers had been largely disengaged before Harris became the Democratic forerunner. However, they are now more excited to have a younger candidate, she said.
Still, Gunn, who is of Haitian descent, noted that the Harris campaign needed to work to get their votes, saying that the group, which includes many first-time voters, needs help with the voting process.
“Most young people, they don’t have a car, they don’t know where their precinct is. They don’t know what’s on the ballot,” she said.
She suggested using social media apps, like Tik Tok, to inform and educate Gen Z voters. ‘SHE COMES WITH PEOPLE’ Morris told the Herald that she wanted to play the Black national anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” because she hadn’t heard it played on any other calls. She also noted the song’s local significance, having been composed at Florida Memorial University — an historically Black college in Miami Gardens.
Morris paid homage to civil rights icons, like Fannie Lou Hamer and Myrlie Evers, and regular people whose actions —from sit-ins at lunch counters to sacrificing their lives —resulted in Black people’s ability to vote.
The panelists implored the call’s attendees to not only exercise that right but to mobilize their community members to do the same. In addition to donating to the campaign, people can join upcoming phone banks, and attend future community events, like watch parties and brunches.
The call included a second video from the Harris campaign, with the vice-president discussing standing on the shoulders of Shirley Chisholm who was the first Black woman to run for president more than 50 years ago. Harris mentioned that when she mentors others, she tells them, “You are not alone. You come with people.”
As the call was wrapping up with a prayer, one participant added this message, in reference to Harris, to the chat: “She comes with people!”
By CAMELLIA BURRIS/Miami Herald