Feature: Black Fraternities Form Obama Super PAC

Written by Terrell Jermaine Starr on January 6, 2012 6:37 pm

Kappa Alpha Psi and Omega Psi Phi are forming an Obama Super PAC called “1911 United” in support of the 44th President’s 2012 re-election bid, TheRoot reports.

Super PACs (Political Action Committee) are allowed to raise unlimited amounts money for any candidate they choose and can create attack or support ads at will. The emergence of Super PACs are a result of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2010 that allows corporations and unions to use their treasuries for political purposes.

Backed by members of Kappa Alpha Psi and Omega Psi Phi, historically black fraternities that both celebrated their centennials last year, 1911 United aims to raise $1.5 million toward training and organizing African-American voters in key battleground states to re-elect President Obama. Members of the two fraternities joined forces last year, officially forming the committee in December, after seeing that both organizations were running their own campaign volunteer-recruitment efforts at college homecoming events.

“We were thinking about how we could really honor the legacy of those brothers who got together 100 years ago, and we thought perhaps the best thing we could do is help re-elect our president,” Sinclair Skinner, committee treasurer, told The Root.

Many saw the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on Super PACs as another blow against campaign finance reform. But can 1911 United be a game-changer in how black organizations participate in national politics? Check out the rest this story at TheRoot.