Howard classmate of Senator Harris: ‘Kamala will do the right things’

Attorney Lita Rosario, a former Howard University classmate of Sen. Kamala Harris, once recruited Harris for the university’s debate team because of the way she carried herself. “Kamala had the ability to deal with [overpowering men] and to state her mind and be very cogent and succinct,” Rosario recalled. “I know there's been some criticism on social media and other places that about her being a prosecutor, but I feel very confident that Kamala will do the right things to stop mass incarceration, police brutality, police shootings and to kind of turn around the militarization of the police departments in the United States."

Video Transcript

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LITA ROSARIO: The other HBCUs might get upset about this, but we consider ourselves the Harvard HBCUs.

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My name is Lita Rosario, and I'm an attorney practicing in Washington, DC. And I met Senator Harris many years ago back when we were both at Howard University together. I was actually I think three years ahead of her. I was on the debate team. I had been recruited to the debate team. I was one of the only females on the team, and it was kind of hard oftentimes for some of the young ladies to compete with the males, because they would be somewhat overpowering in debate.

And I noticed that Kamala had the ability to kind of deal with that and to state her mind and be very cogent and succinct with her arguments, and that she had a sense of wit. So I asked her to come out for the debate team. And I think there's a commitment to excellence at Howard and a drive and a commitment towards excellence and towards change that certainly is a part of Kamala's personality.

Her family, she grew up in a civil rights setting, and she would always talk about that. You know, the influences growing up in Oakland and being around people who were active in the civil rights movement and how that affected and shaped her. And I think that's going to be very important. And I know there's been some criticism on social media and other places about her being a prosecutor. But I feel very confident that Kamala will do the right things to stop mass incarceration, police brutality, police shootings, and to kind of turn around the militarization of the police departments in the United States.

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