Writer and producer Janine Sherman Barrois was one of the 44,000 participants in the historic July 21 Win With Black Women Zoom call, which collected over $1.5 million to support the Democratic presidential contender, Vice President Kamala Harris. Since Harris attended a fundraiser in 2010 to help the then-San Francisco district attorney win election as California’s attorney general, the Big Cigar showrunner has kept tabs on her professional life.She joined the group when Jotaka Eaddy founded it in August 2020. She claims that it is now more important than ever to provide the driving power for Harris to successfully complete this next stage of his political career.
“In entertainment, we write about these post-apocalyptic worlds and how crazy it would be if people tried to overthrow the government — we’re living in that,” Barrois tells The Hollywood Reporter. “There’s no nuance in this. It’s literally: Do you want to go backward, or do you want to believe in the hope and the future of America? And, we don’t want to go backward.” The 2024 Democratic National Convention (DNC), which will take place in Chicago from August 19–22, is anticipated to strengthen this sentiment. Kerry Washington, Mindy Kaling, Tony Goldwyn, and Ana Navarro have just been revealed as the nightly Hollywood hosts.
In collaboration with other Black women-led organizations, Win With Black Women will hold a Sisterhood Lounge at the McCormick Center during the Democratic National Convention. Talks with a variety of Black women in government, including Georgia State Senator Tonya Anderson, Illinois State Representative Sonya Harper, and St. Louis Mayor Tishuara Jones, will be facilitated by Higher Heights For America, Sisters Lead Sisters Vote, and the Black Women’s Leadership Collective. During this past Sunday’s Win With Black Women Zoom call, Pinky Cole, the owner of Slutty Vegan, and Danielle Brooks and Andra Day discussed what this moment means to them ahead of the DNC.
“Often we think about people in the entertainment industry as something separate — yes, they have incredible talents, but they are American voters, too,” says Eaddy. “They have families and lives they carry to the ballot box and it’s always important to remember that they, too, are equally a part of this country and participate in this democracy, and it’s great to see them speak publicly and boldly about that.”
Another attendee in last month’s Win With Black Women kickoff call was Evan Seymour Bain. Motivated by the increasing momentum throughout the lengthy phone conversation, Seymour Bain began messaging friends and coworkers to inquire if they were present at the meeting. She made the decision to start a WhatsApp group two days later so that women in the business could especially exchange resources and information. From 10 participants on the first day, the Black Women in Entertainment for Kamala (BWIE4Kamala) chat has grown to over 500 actresses, executives, journalists, content creators, and media figures who are mobilizing around DNC watch parties, political action committee donations and fundraisers, voter letter writing, and other volunteerism. This growth has occurred in just three weeks. Seymour Bain quit her position in
“I wanted to create a way in which everyone can be engaged in ways that resonate most with them, from grassroots [efforts] all the way up to writing $50,000-plus checks so that we can all do our part to help ensure that Kamala Harris is the 47th president of the United States of America and that Donald Trump stays the fuck out of the White House,” says Seymour Bain candidly, echoing a similar refrain. “We’re not going back.”
Leading up to the DNC, Seymour Bain has been working with Ashley Jackson, daughter of civil rights activist Reverend Jesse Jackson, who’s in charge of Gen-Z voter initiatives for BWIE4Kamala, on a podcast she’ll be hosting live from the convention. This Wednesday, they’ll also be launching the Bestie Ballot Challenge timed to an appearance Ashley will make on the White Women: Answer The Call Zoom, another offshoot of Win With Black Women that saw some 160,000-plus participants raise more than $8.5 million for the Harris campaign after their kickoff call on July 25.
“Politically, as Black women, we welcome this inspiration that we are creating,” says Eaddy. “We welcome seeing White Women: Answer The Call. We welcome seeing our Latino brothers and sisters, white men, Southeast Asian sisters and brothers, and certainly our Black men.
“A lot of people talk about our call — it came out Sunday, [Win With] Black Men came out the very next day. They’ve got our backs. And I think there’s something to be said about the unity and the collaboration of Black men to be in solidarity and right there behind Black women,” Eaddy adds. “They try to create this narrative that we’re divided, but I think we’re more united than we ever have been.”
Actress Jenifer Lewis has also participated in Win With Black Women calls and #CaregiversForHarris Zoom meetings, and she finds the problem of voter turnout among Gen-Z and millennials to be very critical.
“I have a wonderful connection with the Gen-Zers and the Millennials because they sat on their couches and watched me as the auntie and the mother on all the Black movies [and TV shows], from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air to A Different World and now as the Black-ish grandmother,” says Lewis. “They’ve grown up with me, so there’s a bond and a trust. They not only see me, but they can feel that I care.”
In order to participate in activations at the historically black colleges and universities of Spelman, Morehouse, Morris Brown, and Clark Atlanta University, Lewis will go to Atlanta this autumn with BWIE4Kamala.“I’ll also be going down south to these battleground states to go door-to-door, post flyers on the corner, whatever I can do,” says Lewis noting how surviving a 10-foot fall from a balcony while traveling throughout Africa in 2022 changed her perspective on life. “I was too young in the ‘60s to fight, but what else do I have to do but give back at this point? That’s how I live now.”
Triumph Using Black According to Eaddy, women’s grassroots initiatives would intensify following the convention. “We will get back to work after Chicago.” We shall see to it that individuals have the resources necessary to both register to vote on their own behalf and on behalf of others in their community. We are also considering collaborating with female entertainment industry professionals, asking them to utilize their platforms for digital content, or inviting them to personally contribute whenever and wherever they can to help spread the word about how important it is that everyone casts a ballot in this election. Additionally, we will see a lot of people during our Sunday calls,” she adds.
Probably among them will be film and television producer Debra Martin Chase, who co-hosted a fundraiser for Harris in 2019 during her first presidential campaign. Chase was one of Harris’s early backers. She is now organizing a donor event to help this round’s democratic nominee.
“We cannot forget this is going to be a very close race,” says Martin Chase. “It’s going to be a long haul to November, and we can never take our foot off the pedal for one instant because this is going to be a fight to the finish.”
