During Monday night’s “Black Men for Harris” streaming fundraiser for Vice President Kamala Harris, more than 45,000 people gathered to be part of a growing movement to support her presidential campaign.
But it was CNN commenter Bakari Sellers’ emotional story of VP Harris coming to his aid in a time of need, that made the political personal for so many attendees who watched and was shared widely on X.
“I’m not sure people understand the pain and suffering that goes along with being a Black man in this country,” Sellers told the massive audience, wiping tears from his eyes. “I’m not sure people understand what it means to stay strong.”
“But I’m [gonna] stand with her because she stood with me,” added the author. “In my darkest moment when I almost lost my daughter, when I had to protect my wife, when I had to fight for a Black woman in the hospital — and so now it’s my turn.”
The call, organized by Win with Black Men, was hosted by journalist Roland Martin of the Black Star Network, which was a co-sponsoring partner, along with The Collective PAC and Kairos Democracy Project. Attendees raised a whopping $1.3 million for VP Kamala Harris’ campaign, defying any notions that Black men in America are not politically open to supporting women candidates.
“We are not a marching narrative or stereotype. It takes work, but we’re willing to do that work,” Sellers told theGrio.
Sellers is an attorney who, at 22, became the youngest Black American elected to public office in 2006 as a South Carolina state House representative. Later, he served as national co-chair of Harris’ then-2020 presidential campaign. A familiar face on CNN, Sellers publicly shared the story of how his wife, Dr. Ellen Ruckers Sellers, nearly lost her life during childbirth to the couple’s twin babies in his New York Times-bestselling book, “My Vanishing Country.” The Sellers’ youngest daughter, Sadie, was born with biliary atresia, a rare liver condition that required a transplant.
“We were getting ready to go to the hospital…I think it was a one-month biopsy, and she called me and Ellen and just told us everything was going to be OK,” Sellers shared with theGrio. “Sometimes you just need a Black woman’s touch.”
Sellers said he got emotional recounting the story on the Monday call because of the importance of his role as a father and husband.
“Being a protector, being a provider, being all those things that we are in our communities … when that is cracked for any reason, particularly when you don’t have control, you look for people to be there during that moment and that time, in that space,” he shared. “She filled that void with her …laugh and her wise, calm demeanor and words.”
Just two days ago, the Sellers family posted photos of them with Vice President Harris hugging and smiling with the twins, who are now in pre-K. Black children and families are one of the reasons Sellers cited for Black men needing to mobilize around the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee during his stirring remarks on the “Black Men for Harris” call.
“Every day, I’m going to work damn hard to make sure that tomorrow is better than yesterday,” said Sellers. “Donate. Stand up. Activate. Because if we do not change the country we’re living in, our daughters, our sons, are gonna have hell to pay.”
“This is an amazing moment for our country. Let’s protect Kamala. Let’s be with her like she was there for us,” he added. “And at the end of the day, we’re gonna disagree along this road. But let’s put all that petty bickering aside … Let’s be the Black men that change this country.”
