Here we go—election eve. For Vice President Kamala Harris, she will spend election night at Howard University, her alma mater. That’s where she may learn the outcome of her historic 2024 presidential bid. Harris, a Howard graduate in 1986 and the first Black sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha pledge has strong ties to this historic HBCU in Washington, D.C. Just wow.
“I am proud to be the first HBCU vice president of the United States. I intend to be the first HBCU president of the United States,” Harris recently said in an interview with Charlamagne tha God, underscoring her connection to Howard and her place in history. Harris will be the first Black woman elected president and the first HBCU graduate to hold office if she wins.
This is not all news. Throughout her career, Harris has frequently acknowledged the impact of Howard, visiting the campus to prepare for her 2020 debate against then-President Donald Trump and launching her initial presidential campaign there. Her 2024 campaign has increasingly focused on engaging HBCU communities and younger voters, featuring an “HBCU Homecoming Tour” with events across several campuses. Trey Baker, senior adviser to Harris, explained that the tour aims to “meet voters where they are,” particularly the nearly 290,000 students enrolled at HBCUs nationwide.
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ICYMI, one of the tour’s significant stops, was Howard’s October homecoming. Harris’s campaign held a rally close to campus, providing food, drinks, and campaign merchandise to rally attendees who pledged to vote. Although Harris couldn’t attend due to her campaign commitments in battleground states, she sent a letter expressing pride in Howard’s teachings. “At Howard, we learn that we can be great and also that we have the responsibility to work hard to live up to that potential each day,” she wrote.
Howard graduate Cameron Trimble, who organized the HBCU tour, expressed “immense pride” in supporting a fellow alum for president, calling her candidacy a chance for the nation to “make good on the promise… that all people are truly created equal.”
Where will you be on election night? It feels like hiding under a rock isn’t the worst idea. Kidding. But no matter where you’ll be, this election will rock the world one way or another.