Inspired and invigorated by the Win With Black Women Zoom call that raised over $1.5 million in July for Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, Hollywood publicist Evan Seymour felt a pull to act she couldn’t ignore.
After taking inventory of her skills and connections, she quickly realized that she could help organize other Black women in the industry to make an impact. The next day, she got on a brainstorming call during a lunch break with activist April Reign, publicist Verona “VJ” Jones and another powerhouse publicity executive that led to the launch of a WhatsApp group, Black Women in Entertainment for Kamala. Overnight, the group grew from 10 to 100 members.
“There was clearly a hunger for this,” Seymour told TheWrap.
Seymour, a 40 year-old Spelman College graduate, decided to walk away from a coveted role as a publicity lead for AppleTV+ to help Harris get elected.
As the election rapidly approaches, Black Hollywood is throwing its support behind the vice president’s campaign, with industry heavyweights learning new ways to put their talents to use in pursuit of a once-impossible goal: electing the first Black woman president of the United States.
One prominent supporter has been Debra Martin Chase, a storied Hollywood executive who produced successful TV projects like the groundbreaking “Cinderella,” “The Cheetah Girls” and “The Equalizer,” as well as films including “The Preacher’s Wife,” “The Princess Diaries” and “Harriet.”
Chase recognizes the urgency of the election and the entertainment industry’s unique ability to effect change and influence others.
“This is a real turning point for this country as far as who we want to be, what our values are, our position in the world, how we treat each others. This is about who we are as a country and as a people,” she told TheWrap. “We have the power of imagery. We have ways to get the message out to people.”
Chase noted the impact of pop star Taylor Swift’s endorsement the night of the presidential debate between Harris and Donald Trump, which inspired a more than 400% burst in voter registration over the next two days. “That’s power,” she said. “That’s a power that very few people have.”
Famous faces from Kerry Washington to Yvette Nicole Brown to Erika Alexander to Lorraine Toussaint to Debra L. Lee have also lent their support to the cause.
But it’s not just celebrities who are heeding the call. Earlier this month, the group Black Women in Entertainment hosted a “Postcards & Pizza” event that drew more than 200 attendees, who completed more than 1,600 mailers at the home of “Dangerous Moms” showrunner Janine Sherman Barrois.
Harris’ college sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha, has also mobilized in Hollywood, building voter registration events, educational awareness and networking support. One AKA chat group based in Los Angeles has close to 400 participants, according to a participant.
Black Women in Entertainment for Kamala also hosted debate watch parties in Washington D.C., Los Angeles and New York. And on Tuesday night, the group hosted a call attended by nearly 500 women, including Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Ca), Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Mo) and actress Jenifer Lewis.
Tuesday’s call featured several impassioned speeches from the likes of Waters, who encouraged participants to get out and get active. Discussion included strategies for getting talent to use their public platforms any way they can — posting videos or ads, working at phone banks, knocking on doors or visiting campaign headquarters to thank volunteers.
“The goal with this call is for it to be informational, inspirational and for it to be actionable,” Seymour said during the virtual event. The women discussed strategies for getting people to the polls, pointing them to initiatives like voter protection, volunteering as poll workers, putting boots on the ground in swing states and, of course, highlighting the “power of the purse.”
“We all have celebrity friends … Nobody gets to post unless you put vote.org or vote.gov in the caption,” Lewis urged attendees on the call, which also included Tonya Lewis Lee, Pam Grier and Michaela Angela Davis. “Don’t post anything without telling these kids to vote. Just put it in there. Make an effort, famous people.”
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This summer, Seymour spent her days at AppleTV+ working on series like the Rashida Jones-starring “Sunny” and “The Big Cigar” with Don Cheadle.
After Harris became the candidate in July, Seymour directed her efforts to mapping out plans and building momentum for her victory. After enlisting help from her robust Rolodex of publicists, managers, agents, creatives and talent, she was faced with a tough decision: stay at Apple or join Harris. “I realized this was unsustainable,” she said. “I can’t do both.”
So Seymour walked away from her gig at AppleTV+. And soon after, Black Women in Entertainment for Kamala was born.
“I didn’t even tell my mom until the DNC,” she admitted. “It was not an easy decision to make. There’s so much at stake. If Donald Trump were to become president again, it would be a complete catastrophe.”
She echoed the sentiments of many in Hollywood’s Black community who feel this election is the fight of their lifetime.
“I have been involved in politics for as long as I can remember but this is the first time I have been so public with my views,” said publicist Yvette Noelle Schure, who represents Beyonce, in an interview with TheWrap. “She is the only one I believe who will be the president for every citizen.”
“When you look at Project 2025, when you think about the fact that this man is a felon, and think about the xenophobia, the racist rhetoric he encourages and utilizes himself very strategically; when we think about Jan. 6, the attack on education, book-banning, all of these things he is supportive of … They would set us back and set us up for future failure,” Seymour said.
Since taking the big leap, Seymour has seen support from Black women across all sectors of the industry. Events on a similar mission as Black Women in Entertainment for Kamala have also taken shape, including Oprah Winfrey’s buzzed-about (and star-studded) town hall with the vice president last Thursday.
“People are offering up their time, and they’re sharing resources. There are so many entrepreneurs who are donating their services and expertise,” Seymour said. “People are coming together and using their talent in addition to writing the checks.”
There was clearly a hunger for this.” — Evan Seymour
For Chase, who has helped shape the careers of Hollywood heavyweights like Denzel Washington and Queen Latifah, the work she has done behind the scenes and onscreen is directly linked to what is playing out in the real world.
“One of the reasons I got into the film and television business is because I understood early on the power of telling stories and the power of images you put on screen,” Chase said. “In the old days, we as Black people and women and other people of color, you only saw in demeaning and diminished capacities. And as we have had more power behind the scenes and in front of the camera, those images have changed.”
Chase draws a correlation between those images and the reality of the first Black and Southeast Asian woman on the verge of becoming the next U.S. president. “We all had a part in changing the narrative,” she said. “Black Hollywood has been really essential in that process. We have to keep fighting and we have to keep telling stories that highlight the good and the bad and show that this is what could happen if you stay silent.”
Raquel “Rocky” Harris contributed to this story.
