Harris calls on Zeta Phi Beta members to mobilize voters ahead of November election

Vice President Kamala Harris — and likely Democratic nominee for president — address thousands of Zeta Phi Beta sorors on Wednesday in Indianapolis. (Whitney Downard/Indiana Capital Chronicle)

Vice President Kamala Harris — and likely presidential nominee for the Democratic party — appealed to over 6,000 sorority sister assembled in Indianapolis Wednesday, urging them to help rally Americans before the November election. 

“We know when we organize, mountains move. When we mobilize, nations change. And when we vote, we make history,” Harris said. “So let us continue to fight with optimism, with faith and with hope. Because when we fight, we win.”

—Harris framed her candidacy as one that is future oriented, as opposed to Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump — who she never named. She did specifically reference Project 2025, a policy platform proposed by the ultraconservative Heritage Foundation. Trump has denied an association with the initiative — which CNN reports 140 former Trump administration officials contributed to — that calls for eliminating free preschooling and slashing poverty alleviation programs. 

“As we work to build a brighter future and move our nation forward, we must also recognize there are those who are trying to take us backwards,” Harris said. “You may have seen their agenda. Part of it is called Project 2025 … a plan to return America to a dark past.”

The Grand Boulé event is a biannual gathering hosted by the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., a Black Greek-letter organization founded by Black women at Howard University in 1920. Harris, however, is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. — another one of the “Divine Nine” fraternities and sororities whose members have lined up to support Harris in droves. 

The crowd was enthusiastic, often standing in applause and to take photos. With Harris’ presidential candidacy, more than 75 reporters from around the nation attended the speech.

Black voters, especially women, are one of the most active and reliable voter blocs within the Democratic party. In the hours after President Joe Biden announced he would end his presidential reelection campaign on Sunday, 44,000 Black women rallied together on Zoom and collectively raised $1.6 million to support her campaign.

“While we as an organization do not endorse any political candidate or party over the other, we have stayed firm in ensuring exposure to crucial education about our political process and information needed for them to make informed decisions come election day,” organization president and CEO Stacie NC Grant said in a release. “ … This moment puts a focal point on our collective influence of 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.” 

More from Harris’ speech

Harris started her 15-minute speech by acknowledging Biden’s scheduled national address Wednesday evening about his decision not to pursue a second term. Since his Sunday announcement on X, state delegates have lined up behind Harris — including Indiana’s 88 delegates set to attend the August Democratic National Conference in Chicago. 

Harris focused on social justice issues, including abortion access and voting rights, throughout the speech, noting Zeta Phi Beta’s historic contributions to the civil rights movement and the support of Black women that propelled her and Biden to the White House. 

“With your support, I am fighting for our nation’s future. And let us be clear about what that future looks like … we here believe in a future where, for example, everyone has affordable health care,” Harris said. “… Where no child has to grow up in poverty.” 

Two efforts from the Biden administration on those fronts include capping insulin for seniors at $35 per month and passing a child tax credit expansion — the latter of which wasn’t renewed by Congress but triggered a steep drop in the nation’s childhood poverty rate. 

No other wealthy country has such a high rate of maternal mortality, or women dying during or shortly after childbirth. And Black women are three times more likely to die than their white counterparts. 

“For far too long, this has been a crisis in our country. And it is time we recognize that crisis,” Harris said. 

Harris called for passage of universal background checks, red flag laws and a ban on assault weapons. Additionally, she vowed that if elected president she would sign legislation to protect abortion access — reversing the actions of the U.S. Supreme Court when it struck down Roe v. Wade.

“Because one does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree that the government should not be telling (a woman) what to do,” Harris said.

Republicans, Democrats react to Harris visit

State Democrats applauded Harris for coming to the Hoosier State, saying it was her third visit since 2019 — including a 2022 visit to signal her support for abortion rights during the state’s special legislative session. 

“It has been a privilege to have Kamala Harris in Indiana and watch her garner so much support for her campaign in the last few days,” said Indiana Democratic Chair Mike Schmuhl in the release. “With her visit to Indiana today, and her visit after the fall of Roe v. Wade, she is proving a commitment to progress and freedom for Americans in all 50 states.”

In particular, the release praised her work on abortion access — one of the issues Harris took the lead on under the Biden Administration.

“Hoosiers have been in need of strong, Democratic leadership that works for them, not the other way around. Hoosiers and Americans are hungry for a new generation of leadership in our state and country, and Democrats are ready to deliver,” Schmuhl concluded.

Harris’ Indianapolis appearance coincided with a Hoosier State visit from the Republican presidential ticket as well — with Sen. J.D. Vance set to appear in Fort Wayne on Wednesday. However, Vance, the Republican nominee for vice president, is attending a private fundraising event.

Indiana Republicans criticized Harris’ support of “radical policies” and her role overseeing border strategies under the Biden administration, saying her views didn’t represent Hoosiers or “regular Americans.”
“Hoosiers know that a Harris presidency would be MORE RADICAL than the last four years have been. Biden was supposed to be a reasonable Democrat; imagine what Kamala would be like,” the Indiana Republican Party release said.

Indiana Republican gubernatorial nominee and U.S. Sen. Mike Braun additionally criticized Harris in the party release.
“Joe Biden tasked Kamala Harris to be our border czar, and it’s been an unmitigated disaster, as every day thousands of illegal immigrants are following through our southern border with an end goal of either taking Hoosier jobs or bringing drugs to our state, and it needs to stop,” said Braun. “With Donald Trump, J.D. Vance, and myself, we will secure our southern border, make our communities safe again, and enact my Freedom and Opportunity Agenda to grow our economy and keep Indiana great.”

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