164,000 white women, 1 Zoom call and a whopping $2m raised in 90 minutes for Kamala Harris; largest in Zoom history

Kamala Harris’ election campaign is off to a flying start. On the night when Barack and Michelle Obama endorsed her for the presidency, over 164,000 white women gathered and broke the Zoom call record to raise funds for Vice President Kamala Harris.

Dubbed “White Women: Answer the Call,” the event quickly set a world record as the largest Zoom meeting in history, crashing the platform and raising close to $2 million in less than an hour.

Organized by prominent activist Shannon Watts, the event called on women across the nation to join the livestream and invite others to support Harris. The call featured notable speakers, including pop star Pink and actress Connie Britton, who spoke passionately about Harris’s qualifications and the importance of supporting her campaign.

Watts announced the historic nature of the event on social media, highlighting that it was the first Zoom call ever to surpass 100,000 participants. She also noted the impressive fundraising success, with grassroots donations soaring past the $1 million mark within the first hour, eventually nearing $2 million.

As the Zoom meeting commenced, the response was overwhelming. Watts reported that more than 136,000 participants had joined at one point, and the number continued to climb. The sheer volume of attendees caused technical difficulties, resulting in glitches and a temporary crash. The screen went black, displaying the message, “We’ll be right back,” leaving thousands of participants momentarily in suspense.

When the call resumed, attendee Erin Gallagher humorously noted, “We weren’t kidding when we said we broke Zoom.” The event continued to break records, with the final count exceeding 164,000 participants.

As the evening concluded, Watts humorously remarked on X, “Kamala just broke Zoom again.” The event not only set a technological record but also marked a significant moment in the campaign, demonstrating widespread support and the mobilizing power of online events in modern politics.

The event’s success also extended beyond Zoom. With the platform experiencing glitches due to the high volume, many participants switched to YouTube to continue watching the livestream.

Notable figures like author Glennon Doyle and Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher also participated, lending their voices to the cause and energizing the audience. The event’s success was a testament to the power of grassroots organizing and the collective impact of women’s voices in the political arena.

“150k white women on #AnswerTheCall. To support a woman of colour. There are no words to describe what I’ve been feeling the past few days. I thought seeing Obama get elected was the highlight of my life, but I was wrong. This is history,” an X user emphasised.