As Election Day nears, Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, got support from Harris’s fellow historically Black colleges and universities (HBCU) alumni.
According to a news release obtained by Black Enterprise, over 50 former football legends representing 25 HBCUs
endorsed Harris and Walz and urged people to vote for their candidates of choice this November.The list of 52 HBCU football legends includes Greg Coleman, the first Black punter in the NFL; Richard Dent, the Super Bowl XX MVP; James “Shack: Harris, the first Black full-time starting NFL quarterback; Willie Lanier, the first Black starting MLB in the NFL; Doug Williams, the first Black quarterback to start, win, and also be named MVVP of a Super Bowl; and so many more.
The football legends wrote in a public letter, “We encourage all citizens to study the candidates and issues and make their own judgments.” They stressed the importance of voters researching candidates.
“We have done so and are inspired and proud of the leadership that President Harris and Vice-President Walz will provide. But throughout our careers, we have competed on the merits, and we respect the rights of others to compete now and reach their own conclusions about candidates.”
The endorsement comes as questions loom on whether Harris can get support from Black men. A recent NAACP poll gives insight on how Harris is performing with Black voters. While more than 75% of Black women over 50 said they would vote for the Harris-Walz ticket, only 66% of men over 50 plan to do so, Newsweek reports. The same poll shows that only 56% of Black voters between 18 and 49 plan to support Harris.
“The soul
of this nation is on the ballot in November. We want Black communities to understand what’s at stake and take action,” said Phaedra Jackson, NAACP vice president of Unit Advocacy and Effectiveness, in a statement.RELATED CONTENT: HBCU Football Players Have Options Outside The NFL