Yesterday, Vice President Kamala Harris spoke to the ladies of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. at their Grand Boulè in Indianapolis. Harris gave an electrifying speech, encouraging some 6,000 women to help her make history by voting for her in the upcoming election.
Before withdrawing from the presidential election, President Joe Biden and the administration made it their mission to target Black women voters, as they were a key component in his possible re-election. Harris has been traveling across the country over the last few weeks, speaking with Black women voters. Earlier this month, she made an appearance at the 30th Annual ESSENCE Festival of Culture in New Orleans as well as Alpha Kappa Alpha’s 71st Boulè in Dallas.
In her 15-minute speech, Harris addressed the achievements of the Biden-Harris administration while being met with applause and standing ovations. Under the Biden-Harris administration, insulin for seniors has been capped at $35 per month, student loan debt has been forgiven for over 5 million Americans, and lower childcare costs have been established for parents. In her speech, she also highlighted the sorority’s history of service, calling on them to help encourage voters leading up to the election.
Here is a portion of her speech:
“And to the sisters of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., I thank you for your incredible service to our nation as well.
You know, I — I know who we all are. I know who is here. And I know, therefore, that we share a vision for the future of our nation—a future where every person has the opportunity not just to get by but to get ahead; a future of social justice, health justice, economic justice—just as you have laid out in this year’s theme.
Ours is a vision of a future in which we realize the promise of America. And I deeply believe in the promise of America: a promise of freedom, opportunity, and justice not for some but for all.
And for generations, the Finer Women of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated, have fought to build that brighter future.
During the Civil Rights Movement, you marched for voting rights, economic justice, and an end to segregation. For more than 50 years, you have worked with the March of Dimes to lift up the urgent issue of maternal health. And from the 1980s, you inaugurated Zeta Days.
And I will tell you, when I was a United States senator, I would see this group of powerful leaders walking through the halls of Congress in white and blue, and I always knew I was looking at some of the most powerful advocates for justice in America. Truly.
Both Zeta Phi Beta and Harris’s sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha are part of the “Divine Nine,” a group of historically Black fraternities and sororities. Both Zeta Phi Beta and Alpha Kappa Alpha were founded at Howard University, which is Harris’s alma mater. Harris announced her run for president this past Sunday after President Joe Biden announced that he was withdrawing from the race.
Since making the announcement, Harris has received an outpour of support. More than 40,000 Black women raised nearly $1.6 million for Harris’s campaign in a last-minute Zoom call on Sunday, adding to the $126 million she’s raised since President Biden’s endorsement.
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