Vice President Harris Kicks off her National "Fight for Our Freedoms" College Tour (823 hits)
HAMPTON — Kamala Harris visited Hampton University on Thursday — the first stop of her nationwide “Fight for Our Freedoms College Tour.” The vice president plans to rally young adults to stand up for their fundamental rights, including voting rights, gun safety, reproductive freedom and more, according to a White House release.
She was greeted by Newport News Mayor Phillip Jones upon landing at the Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport.
News 3 spoke with some students ahead of the visit.
“For her to be visiting Hampton, not only an HBCU, but the rival of the school that she attended is major,” said Lillian Carr, the Hampton University Student Government Association president. “I mean, I think it really just goes to show how important we are and how she sees or views us in this conversation.”
Harris visited the school two years ago to discuss the Biden administration’s efforts to strengthen historically Black colleges and universities.
On Thursday, she reiterated the administration’s commitment to investing in HBCUs.
“Our HBCUs are some of the greatest centers of academic excellence. We have now invested over $7 billion on our HBCUs,” she said.
During the conversation, attended by several hundred people, Harris encouraged people to vote, citing the importance of the issues.
“We’ve got a fight on our hands right now,” she said. “We are fighting for our democracy, and this is real. These attacks on voting rights, on a person’s ability to make decisions about their own body, on issues like affirmative action, on issues that are about what makes for reasonable gun safety laws.
“This stuff is real. And it’s happening right now in real time. But I am optimistic because I know that our leaders are up for this challenge and will not be denied,” she said.
She also took aim at elections in Virginia, where early voting begins a week from Friday, saying abortion rights are at stake. Gov. Glenn Youngkin has indicated support for a 15-week ban on abortion, and every General Assembly seat is on the ballot.
“The concern we have is that the governor here has said that he would sign a ban on access to abortion if the legislature passes it,” Harris said. “We’ll make sure the legislature agrees that y’all shouldn’t be making these decisions for folks.”
The Republican Party of Virginia responded to Harris’ visit.
“Kamala Harris is the most unpopular vice president in history, and her visit today is just another reminder of how the Biden/Harris administration and their radical policies are bad for our country and bad for Virginia,” read a statement. “While students at Hampton University heard plenty of empty talking points, what they didn’t hear was how the price of everything from a cup of coffee to a gallon of gas is going through the roof, and how Democrat policies are killing their chances of landing a good job and living the American dream.”
The discussion lasted for about 45-minutes with Harris telling the students they have the ability to help set the course for the nation.
“It’s the nature of things that with each generation we must fight for our rights and our freedoms, so just stay active because I and our country are counting on all of you,” she told the crowd.
