Black sororities and politics

Aka alpha kappa alpha has a very special meaning to me we’ll get to that later but the vice president-elect embodies the organization’s mission scholarship leadership and public service kamala is representing young girls women across this country across the world she’s representing immigrants she is representing black women

And i’m going to get emotional but i don’t think we have been recognized for being the backbone of this country going all the way back to slavery so she represents all of that and in full disclosure i am a member of the alpha kappa alpha sorority and this

Morning we’re going to talk a little bit about this how this sisterhood has shaped the vice president-elect and i’m so happy to be joined by another powerhouse aka kim blackwell the ceo of the global pmm brand agency and celebrated as one of the most powerful women in business good morning soror skiwi

With your pink and green i do have i do have some green underneath this you know what i i i had to dig deep but i found the pink and green combo just for you sir thank you thank you you’re no stranger to the white house we actually dug up

A picture of you with another one of our sores connie orlando with the obamas so you understand political fundraising how did you end up connecting with kamala well it was interesting so um to your uh observation i’ve played a role in the political arena and having served under the obama administration

As a member of the national women’s business council advocating for female business entrepreneurs and owners and working directly with the white house congress and the sba and so fast forward um i’ve played a role in uh trying to make sure that i am connected to the political discourse and ways of opportunities for

Representation in local seats and national as well and i met senator harris through a mutual friend i was actually being recognized at the national urban league conference she spoke then as a presidential candidate we were introduced uh it was a fast uh an initial kindred spirit around really understanding one uh what

It looks like to lead as a female lead as a black woman and something that she just really ignited uh was her just authenticity in the way in which i felt immediately connected and i wonder kim what impression did she leave on you did you get the

Sense this woman is bound for even greater greater things than that particular moment oh so before i met her uh i knew of senator harris and i think anyone who has had any type of exposure to her understands that she is a woman uh intelligent uh brilliant

Uh and in all of those things i could see uh that there was something by way of next level and definitely bound um again she was very personable um you know you know when you meet her um that she is committed to service um she is unapologetic in her brilliance

And uh in in leading in a way in which she could clearly see beyond herself in the lives that she has touched through many offices i have to say twitter went ablaze when she was chosen as president-elect joe biden’s running mate my twitter feed was y’all aks are going

Crazy now and i was i was very i was very excited um and some people asked me how how are you puerto rican yet you’re part of a historically black sorority and i say because i’m great and that’s part of our mission but you know for folks at home what does this mean

The importance of these historically black fraternities and sororities they helped shape the vote and i suspect our voices will be a lot louder as we move into this next phase uh and i wonder if you could speak to that yeah absolutely so you know i didn’t attend a historically black college

University but certainly i am aware of its historical significance by way of our heritage and history um you know where and what you see in all of the representation of sisterhood um the divine nine uh when i went to syracuse university i served on the panhellenic council so

It wasn’t just about me being an aka it was about me understanding that as a collective body what fraternities and sororities specifically specifically those that were black um could do together as a collective force the camaraderie um the spirit of sisterhood and brotherhood all of those things that really kind of

Shape now the sense of service and leadership servant leadership um you know it was mentioned by way of scholarship and understanding that you know we lift as we climb and a candle loses none of its light by lighting another and it is our duty and obligation through this sisterhood and brotherhood

To make sure that we are looking not just at the next generation but creating opportunities for those to come and again with senator harris um you could see you mentioned the means and last saturday there was a bursting pride and the purpose in which you could see

You could see it in the crowd power suit to mary j blige uh and being unapologetic in who she is that’s an african-american woman sora kimberly blackwell thank you so much for seeing being so gracious with your time we certainly appreciate it and i’m gonna keep tabs on you for your next

Visit to the white house i’ll be your plus one hey do that do that and you’re welcome to join absolutely thank you so much we appreciate it

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