"Win With Black Women" founder on group's role in historic election

The laminitis of nan viral "Win With Black Women" livestream that had 90,000 participants nationwide arsenic Vice President Kamala Harris entered nan race for nan White House successful July said arsenic a child, she "always was that kid that conscionable wanted to conflict for anybody who I felt was being mistreated."

Jotaka Eaddy said she felt that measurement aft proceeding antagonistic comments made astir Black women named arsenic imaginable vice statesmanlike candidates successful 2020, erstwhile President Biden was connected nan campaign trail. 

"Every past 1 of those women were receiving racist, sexist attacks," Eaddy told CBS News. "No 1 was challenging their policies, their agendas. It was, 'she was excessively ambitious.'" 

Eaddy's mentor, erstwhile White House governmental head Minyon Moore, encouraged Eaddy to do something. And successful 2020, Eaddy created "Win With Black Women," a virtual web that started gathering each Sunday during nan pandemic via zoom pinch nan extremity of supporting and advancing nan argumentation schedule of Black women. Since July, it's raised much than $2.6 cardinal for nan Harris campaign.

When Mr. Biden opted to time off nan title successful July, endorsing Harris arsenic his successor, nan group's regular telephone went viral, arsenic astir 90,000 Black women and friends came together to strategize — and to clasp nan history that could beryllium made. 

"Remember this moment, retrieve wherever you were, retrieve really you felt," Eaddy said astatine nan time.

Eaddy said erstwhile nan telephone came to a adjacent astatine 1 a.m., astir 20,000 women remained, successful what she said "felt for illustration a hug that you conscionable did not want to fto go."

The group's activity inspired others to shape virtual groups, while raising millions of dollars for nan shared cause. And it inspired a "Unite for America" livestream successful September pinch Oprah Winfrey, featuring Harris herself, who thanked Eaddy for her work. 

"She started it, Jotaka started it," Harris said. 

According to CBS News polling, much than 9 successful 10 Black women voters are backing Harris successful nan 2024 statesmanlike election. The support comes arsenic Black women helped propel Mr. Biden to triumph successful 2020, for illustration successful Georgia, pinch 92% supporting him and helping a Democrat to triumph nan authorities for nan first clip successful 28 years. 

The effort comes aft a agelong history of Black women organizing, according to historiographer and professor Martha S. Jones. 

"When we look backmost crossed not conscionable decades, but much than a century, what we admit is that Black women person ever been knocking connected nan door, rattling nan gates, insisting connected a spot astatine nan array successful American politics," Jones said. 

Jones, nan writer of "Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won nan Vote, and Insisted connected Equality for All," was portion of nan zoom telephone successful July, and noted nan value of getting retired nan ballot — which she called "the bosom of democracy."

For Eaddy, she recognizes nan caller modular that "Win With Black Women" has group connected elector outreach, which she hopes will make an effect successful decades to come. 

"What we are seeing is simply a level of power agreed astir our collective, our corporate absolute request to guarantee that this state is simply a spot wherever we tin each thrive and unrecorded and beryllium free," Eaddy said.