Harris-Walz campaign launches Souls to the Polls

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Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate Minnesota Governor Tim Walz are launching a nationwide Souls to the Polls effort to increase Black voter turnout for the 2024 presidential election.

The month-long collaborative effort will officially launch Sunday, Oct. 13 with a national call featuring gospel performances and testimony from faith leaders and elected officials.

The initiative seeks to encourage and empower Black voters from different faiths in key battleground states around the country, the Harris-Walz campaign announced Friday.

Utilizing a strategy popularized by the original civil rights leaders of the ’50s and ’60s, Harris has tapped Black faith leaders to aid her in her effort to become the first Black woman president of the United States.

“Vice President Harris has been a faithful servant to both God and the American people for her entire life,” the Harris-Walz 2024 National Advisory Board of Black Faith Leaders said in a statement released Friday.

Calling Harris an advocate to the Black Church and faith communities across the country, the Black faith leaders stated Harris is “not taking a single voter for granted and is committed to earning each and every vote.” 

Black faith Leaders step up for Harris-Walz campaign

Advocating in their personal capacities, the Black Faith Leaders serving on the Harris-Walz 2024 National Advisory Board include:

• Congressman Emanuel Cleaver II, (D-MO), former pastor of St. James United Methodist Church in Kansas City, Missouri 
• Bishop Reginald T. Jackson, Presiding Prelate of the 2nd Episcopal District
• Bishop Leah D. Daughtry, National Presiding Prelate of The House of the Lord Churches in Washington, D.C. 
• Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie, 117th elected and consecrated bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church 
• Bishop William H. Murphy III, Lead Pastor of The dReam Center Church of Atlanta, Georgia 
• Reverend Dr. Frederick D. Haynes III, Senior Pastor of Friendship-West Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas 
• Reverend Matthew Lawrence Watley, Founder Senior Pastor of Kingdom Fellowship AME Church in Calverton, Maryland 
• Reverend Dr. Amos C. Brown, pastor of Third Baptist Church in San Francisco, California
• Reverend Dr. Howard-John Wesley, Senior Pastor of Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, Virginia 
• Dr. W. Franklyn Richardson, Chairman, The Conference of National Black Churches (CNBC), based in Atlanta, Georgia 

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Souls to the Polls

The latest polls show Harris performing slightly better than her Republican opponent, twice-impeached former president Donald Trump. However, her advantage is within the margin of error.

The candidates remain neck-and-neck in battleground states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan, states that will ultimately decide the outcome when millions of Americans cast their votes on Tuesday, November 5.

As Americans prepare to decide which candidate best reflects their values and policy positions, the board members urged Black voters to consider VP Harris’ record.

“She has led the current administration in delivering real progress for Black communities across the country – from record investments in Black owned businesses to lowering health care and child care costs so that no American ever has to choose between paying bills or putting food on the table,” the Black faith leaders stated ahead of the official Souls to the Polls nationwide launch.

“We are honored to join her in the fight to make true the promise of America for all.”