Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is receiving backlash for criticizing Vice President Kamala Harris after she attended the boulé of the historically Black sorority Sigma Gamma Rho Incorporated.
During an interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt, Trump called the boulé a “party” that was “very unimportant.”
“Well, she went to a party, she actually went to a party, you know that she went to a party, a sorority party,” he said.
“A very unimportant one. They have them numerous times during the year. It’s a shame.”
Trump was referencing Harris attending the group’s annual convention in Houston in July 2024. Sigma Gamma Rho, founded in 1922 by seven Black women in Indianapolis,
Indiana, was the last established sorority under the “Divine Nine” group. While speaking to ladies who shined in their bold royal blue and gold, Harris said she looked at them as family who share similar visions for the future of the nation. “In this moment, we face a choice between two very different visions for our nation: one focused on the future, the other focused on the past. And we in this room are fighting for the future,” Harris said.“We are working to build up — to build up, not tear down — and to build up America’s families and America’s middle class because we know when our middle class is strong, America is strong.”
Divine Nine boulés hold significant value for members, including keynote speakers, workshops, and networking events. Used as a way to garner bonds of sisterhood among the sororities, Democratic strategist Antjuan Seawright says Trump’s comments once again depict him being far connected from history, as, according to the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Black fraternities and sororities were created on principles of personal excellence, community service, racial uplift, civic action and kinship. “This is not the first time that we bear witness to Donald Trump’s racism not having boundaries,” said Seawright.
“Clearly, he has no acknowledgment of the history
the Divine Nine has played to not only shaping the African American community but shaping his country, and certainly, the blatant continued disrespect of Black women shows his disconnect with the realities of what this country is all about.”Some of the most prominent leaders in African-American history were members of Sigma Gamma Rho, including Georgia Davis Powers, the first woman and Black woman elected to the Kentucky state senate; Hattie McDaniel, the first African-American actress to win an Academy Award in 1940; and Rep. Robin Kelly (D-Ill.)
For decades, historical groups have sponsored initiatives to promote voter registration and support of political candidates. The 2024 presidential election is no different. According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority
Inc., one of the largest historically Black sororities, spent time at the 54th Eastern Regional Conference in the city of brotherly love spreading messaging on the importance of voting.During a discussion on economic impact entitled “VOTE Initiative — Visualize, Organize, Trailblaze, and Empower,” members pushed the urgent need for a massive turnout at the polls in November.
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