Howard College, a traditionally Black faculty in Washington, D.C., is known as the “Mecca.” Since 1867, it has been a gathering place for Black individuals within the U.S. and from all around the world. Amongst its alumni are former U.S. Supreme Courtroom Justice Thurgood Marshall and Vice President Kamala Harris. It was the situation the place Harris selected to present her concession speech on Wednesday.
I used to be there overlaying the occasion, however it wasn’t my first time visiting Howard’s campus. Whereas attending faculty at Syracuse College in New York, my associates and I took street journeys every year to Howard’s homecoming, which simply celebrated its one centesimal anniversary in October. However the jubilant ambiance that normally surrounds occasions on The Yard, the primary quad on campus, was changed by a sombreness on Wednesday as crowds gathered to listen to her concession speech.
Individuals of all ages and races stood on campus the place remnants from election evening had been nonetheless seen. Many had been Black ladies who had attended Harris’s watch get together on Tuesday evening and had returned regardless of not getting a lot sleep.
“I feel like if I’m gonna be here to celebrate with her, then I also should be here when she’s accepting her loss in this case,” Gaelyn Smith, 26, a D.C.-native, mentioned.
This kind of help has buoyed Harris’s marketing campaign since its outset when some 44,000 members swamped a Zoom name organized by Win With Black Girls founder Jotaka Eaddy. That decision and coinciding ones raised $1.6 million in a single night.
Smith says she additionally voted for Clinton in 2016, and the loss feels comparable. “Some time from now, maybe I’ll feel hopeful, maybe I’ll feel different,” Smith mentioned.
Sheryl Estrada
Deborah, (who didn’t share her final identify), a Black girl in her 70s, and a second-generation native Washingtonian, was at Harris’s concession speech as properly.
”I felt like this was a great way to carry closure for myself,” she informed me. She additionally introduced her younger grandson, making it his first political occasion. “The possibility of having Kamala Harris as our president just meant the world to me,” she mentioned.
Concerning the subsequent 4 years, Deborah mentioned she has each hope and dread.
“I hope that we can see something different than what we’ve been shown throughout Donald Trump’s campaign,” she mentioned. “But because of the way he ran his campaign, and the people who surround him, that sort of leaves me with a little feeling of dread of what might come.”
Ready for Harris to take the stage, I additionally heard the “Skee-Wee” name as members of her sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc greeted one another. Based in 1908 at Howard, it now has greater than 1,000 chapters in 11 nations and all 50 U.S. states.
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When Harris took the stage and started her speech simply earlier than 4:30 p.m. the somber crowd started cheering voraciously, however many additionally shed tears. Harris mentioned accepting the election result’s “a fundamental principle of American democracy,” along with loyalty to the U.S. Structure, conscience and God.
“I know many people feel like we are entering a dark time,” she mentioned through the speech. “But for the benefit of us all, I hope that is not the case. But here’s the thing, America, if it is, let us fill the sky with the light of a brilliant, brilliant billion of stars — the light of optimism, of faith, of truth and service.”
As I used to be taking notes, at one level, I put down my pen and pad to consolation a younger supporter who started weeping. Attendees gathered round her with phrases of consolation: “It’s going to be okay” and “We’ve got this.”
Though supporters grappled with their aspirations for a Harris presidency coming to an finish, there was a way of resilience whereas exiting The Yard, and feeling that the history-making there’ll solely proceed.
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