Kamala Harris hits campaign trail with speech in Indianapolis at national sorority gathering

Indiana was one of the first stops for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris. Vice President Harris spoke Wednesday to a crowd of thousands of Black women at the Indiana Convention Center.

Harris’s speech at the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority’s Grand Boulé was planned before President Biden’s announcement that he would not seek re-election. At the sold-out event Harris told the crowd voters will have a choice between two different visions of America.

“One focused on the future, the other focused on the past, and with your support, I am fighting for the nation’s future,” Harris said.

Much of her speech focused on accomplishments of the Biden administration, including a cap on insulin prices, school debt forgiveness and Medicaid expansion. 

Harris also spoke about the risk of losing hard-fought freedoms in America.

“The freedom to love who you love openly and with pride, the freedom to learn and acknowledge our true and full history,” Harris said, “and the freedom for a woman to make decisions about her own body and not have her government telling her what to do.”

Harris also talked about issues that disproportionately impact Black women, including maternal mortality.

Denise Everett traveled to Indianapolis from Florida for the convention. She said Harris’s speech was inspiring.

“We are ready. One team, one fight,” Everett said.

Zeta Phi Beta President Dr. Stacie NC Grant commented on the historic moment, and the role Black women could play in mobilizing the vote, in a statement.

“This moment puts a focal point on our collective influence on our communities and the many distinguished members across our respective organizations who have united together to distill information this election season and get the nation to 'stroll to the polls' with us,” Grant said.

The day after Biden’s announcement that he would step down from the Presidential race, tens of thousands of Black women joined a Zoom call to celebrate the kick-off of Harris’s campaign.

The sorority said while they don’t endorse political candidates, they do support voter education and getting people to the polls.

Zeta Phi Beta is part of the Divine Nine, a group of historically Black sororities and fraternities. Harris is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha.

The group says the visit marks the first time a Black Greek Letter organization hosted a Black woman presidential nominee.