CHICAGO, Illinois — Just about everyone at the Democratic National Convention is anticipating the thrill of a Beyoncé bombshell, especially Kamala Harris’ college sorority sisters who are getting VIP treatment on the historic occasion.
“We love Kamala and are here for HER,” Cynthia Cramer Osaghae told the Daily Beast in a text message, emphasizing her as the woman they consider to be the star of the show. Though the reality is, they’d all love to see Queen Bey as well.
The entire convention is buzzing with rumors and high hopes that the global megastar will make a dramatic appearance Thursday night as Harris accepts her party’s nomination to be the first Black female president. And if it is in the books, it is the most tightly held of intelligence, especially since The Chicks are set to sing the National Anthem to kick off Thursday night and Pink has already been announced as a closing night performer.
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Even DNC Convention Chair Minyon Moore acknowledged she’s in the dark with everyone else: “I think anything could be a surprise, even to us sometimes,” Moore told MSBNC early this week when asked about the rumors.
White House political director Emmy Ruiz added to the hype Thursday when she tweeted out a bee emoji—long the symbol used by Beyoncé’s fans online.
A senior DNC source told the Daily Beast that the only DNC official who would know for sure if a global superstar like Beyoncé is participating in Kamalapalooza would be Ricky Kirshner, the award-winning live televised event producer who is orchestrating the entire production in Chicago.
And if Taylor Swift, who does have time off until her next Eras tour concert on Oct. 18 in Miami, were to appear to fulfill Democrats’ wildest dreams—again, only Kirshner would know. A DNC official with close knowledge of event planning who requested anonymity (because his neck would be on the line for speaking freely about the forum’s most sensitive topic) said he could “not confirm or deny” whether Beyoncé will grace the convention with her presence Thursday night. Questions about Swift rumors weren’t even indulged.
Sorority sisters of Kamala Harris together with a current Howard U journalism student who is interviewing them on the far right.
Duane Cramer“If the Queen Bee Beyoncé performs [Friday] it will be fitting, a gift from one queen to the other,” Harris’ former classmate Cramer Osaghae said. “But a democratic one.”
Osaghae, a sales professional who lives in Washington, D.C., graduated from Howard University with Harris in 1986. At her mother’s home in Chicago, her sister, Imelda Cramer Brown, hosted more than two dozen former classmates who were fellow members of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority with Harris this week. Brown was Harris' AKA "dean of pledges" at Howard.
Guests included Valarie Pippen, Monique Poydras, Carla Stern Manning, Joelle Bowers Oxley and Paulette Murphy, who was the “dean of Song and Step” during her line, the year she was initiated. A current AKA member and Howard University journalism student joined the graduates to interview them about their relationships with Harris.
From left to right, Cynthia Cramer Osaghae, Carla Stern Manning and Monique Poydras.
Cynthia CramerMoore, the convention chair who is also an AKA alumna, said there would be a special section reserved inside the convention arena for the so-called “divine nine”—the historically African-American sororities and fraternities—“because they have been a part of her history, a part of her journey so you will see all the colors of all the sororities and fraternities come together.”
Perhaps it was no surprise that Black women almost immediately mobilized for Harris’ presidential bid after Joe Biden caved to intense pressure and stepped aside on July 21. They helped bring the record-shattering fundraising, the massive crowds and the star power.
Beyoncé did her party by endorsing Harris and releasing the use of her 2016 hit “Freedom” as the Harris campaign’s official theme song. Donald Trump then invited the prospect of her legal wrath when his campaign brazenly stole the song for a social media video of their own
“Freedom” rang through the United Center on Monday when Harris made an appearance on stage. And plenty of Democrats at the convention have made it abundantly clear they hope to see Beyoncé by donning colorful cowboy hats and “Cowboy Kamala” sashes, a nod to the superstar’s latest country-inflected album Cowboy Carter.
Even nerdy U.S. senators have been gossiping about the possibility.
“Words can't express how proud we are of her accomplishments,” Cramer Osaghae said of her friend and sorority sister who she will watch make history on Thursday.
Three generations of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority sisters. Foreground Beedie Cramer Jones, flanked by daughters Cynthia Cramer Osaghae and Imelda Cramer Brown, and granddaughter Danielle Brown
Courtesy of Duane CramerHer sister, Imelda Cramer Brown, added that the sisterhood of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., can't wait to call Harris, with her “brilliant mind, infectious and joyous personality” the 47th president of the United States.
