South End Election Organizers Bring Seattle ‘Brothas 4 Kamala’ Event

by Lauryn Bray

On Sept. 22, Pritchard Beach Boathouse will host a “Brothas 4 Kamala” event in preparation for this year’s upcoming election. Organized by a group of four Black men, the event will feature a panel of four Black women who will speak about the importance of increasing support among Black male voters for Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign.

The event was co-planned by Rick DuPree, Solynn McCurdy, James Bush, and David Sarju, and the panel will feature commentary from Sharon Nyree Williams, Andrea Caupain Sanderson, Donna Moodie, and Emijah Smith. Sarju spoke to the Emerald about the inspiration behind it and why he and the organizers felt it important.

“One is the basic excitement about who she is, or seems to be emerging to be, as a person. She’s not perfect, and I have a lot of issues, but just the general level of character and comportment, professionalization, and the way she brings people together — there’s a lot of excitement for her building to lead,” said Sarju. “And two: just the opportunity for Brothers to get behind a Sister.”

According to Sarju, Harris’ campaign has created a rare opportunity to support a Black woman from the forefront. “[When] we look at [the women of the] Civil Rights Movement — Fannie Lou Hamer, Ella Baker, Pauli Murray — all the Sisters that were in the background in the marches doing the work, but never holding the mic,” he said.

Sarju said that this is also why the event’s panel will feature all Black women. “We thought we could model Brothers organizing — actually putting on an event, not asking our partners to do it — and then front some local Sisters.”

One of these “local Sisters” is Sharon Nyree Williams, who will be part of the event’s panel. Williams also spoke with the Emerald to talk about her intentions for the event.

“There’s still people out there that haven’t made a decision, and David was very concerned about some Black men that had made a decision,” said Williams. “So [we asked], ‘How do we put women in front of them to [help] open the conversation up?’”

Williams hopes the event will unlock the answer to that question. “[We want people to] leave it on the table in front of everybody. There’s no wrong viewpoint because your viewpoint belongs to you,” she said.

A recent NAACP poll which interviewed 1,000 registered Black voters across the U.S. from Aug. 6 to Aug. 12 found that 26% of Black male voters under 50 supported Trump. Black men over 50 supported Harris by 73%. Overall, 63% of Black voters are expected to vote for Harris, while support for Trump is at 13%.

Like Sarju, Williams said she understands Harris is “not perfect” and anticipates there will be some discussion surrounding some of her less-perfect policies.

“Palestine is a major one and we are going to talk about it at the event,” she said. “I think that’s the first step — get everybody in the room so we can talk it out, and then figure out for us, as Black folks, what we want to do.”

According to Williams, regardless of who wins the upcoming election, the organizing efforts should only continue, “We have to prepare anyway, either way, for if Kamala is elected, if Trump is elected, or if someone else is elected. We have to be prepared for what we want for our community and what’s best for us as a world.”

Editors' Note: This article was updated to correct a typographical error.

Lauryn Bray is a writer and reporter for the South Seattle Emerald. She has a degree in English with a concentration in creative writing from CUNY Hunter College. She is from Sacramento, California, and has been living in King County since June 2022.