‘South Asian Women for Harris’ raises over $250,000

In a historic show of solidarity for Vice President Kamala Harris, the likely Democratic presidential nominee, ‘South Asian Women for Harris’ raised more than $250,000 for the Indian American contender’s campaign.

Over 90,000 South Asian women joined the event on a Zoom call on July 24 to mobilize support for Harris, just days after 44,000 Black women joined the ‘Win With Black Women’ virtual meeting on Sunday.

Elected lawmakers, representatives from various South Asian American groups, community organizers, celebrities, and politically engaged women came together to discuss ways to make Harris the first woman, the first African American and the first Indian American president.

There was tremendous interest among participants to work in their communities to ramp up get-out-the-vote efforts. The chat window of Zoom was off the hook with women supporting and encouraging each other, and sharing resources and and ways in which attendees could get involved in the campaign.

READ: Harris neck-and-neck with Trump after campaign launch: poll (July 24, 2024)

The July 24 Zoom call was organized by Palak Sheth, founder of Post March Salon (PMS), attorney Mansi H. Shah, former president of the South Asian Bar Association (SABA), and civil rights lawyer Arunima Bhargava, with help from Harini Krishnan and Neha Dewan, co-national directors of South Asians for Harris.

Organizers said the call aimed to show the power of South Asian women, get them energized, build momentum, build hope, and raise money. It also aimed to raise the profile of South Asian women who have been “doing most of the heavy lifting “ in the community, Krishnan said. “Most of the political organizing in the South Asian American communities is led by women, young women,” she added.

Venu Gupta, one of the organizers, said, “It’s going to take every woman voter in this country to win this election. We’re not running for office: we’re running for our rights.”

READ: Kamala Harris wins enough delegates to win Democratic nod (July 23, 2024)

Several celebrities and activists joined the call. Dressed in the “brat” green, actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer Mindy Kaling pledged her support to the campaign, promising to “work hard, quickly and effectively.”

“Culturally, I was raised to keep my head down and not make a stir. I’m so glad to see that Kamala Harris has done the exact opposite throughout her career.”

Actress Poorna Jagannathan spoke about her hope that Harris would take a firm stance on Gaza, calling for a more permanent solution to the conflict.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash), talked about her mother, who is sending nonstop WhatsApp messages about Harris’ historic candidacy. “It’s an incredible thing to think about where we are today,” she said calling it “such a great moment for the community.”

Other panelists included associate attorney general Vanita Gupta, Mini Timmaraju, president and CEO of Reproductive Freedom For All, Reshma Saujani, CEO and founder of Moms First (formerly Marshall Plan for Moms), and founder of Girls Who Code, Rohini Kosoglu, a longtime Harris policy adviser who worked in her Senate and vice-presidential office, actress, author, producer, and activist Sheetal Sheth, Los Angeles City Councilwoman Nithya Raman, and Neeru Khosla, founder of the CK12 Foundation, and wife of billionaire venture capitalist Vinod Khosla.

READ: Indian American groups endorse Kamala Harris for President (July 22, 2024)

Philadelphia City Council member Nina Ahmed, Georgia State Sen. Nabilah Islam Parkes, Bianca Shah, and Ananya Kachru, youth directors of South Asians for Harris, and Nadia Belkin, National AANHPI Engagement Director at Harris for President, also spoke.

Other prominent attendees included Washington State Sen Manka Dhingra, Washington State Rep Vandana Slatter, former New Jersey Assemblywoman Sadaf Jaffer, and Judge Juli A. Mathew ion Forth Bend County in Texas, among others.