Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, is set to hold an election night event at her alma mater, Howard University, in 2022. The university spokesperson confirmed this news via email to Inside Higher Ed.
The Harris-Walz campaign will be hosting the event on campus as the election results unfold. To encourage student voting, classes will be conducted remotely on Monday and canceled on Tuesday. The campus will be closed to the public on Tuesday.
Howard University, a historically Black institution located in Washington, D.C., has played a significant role in Harris’s political journey since she joined President Biden’s ticket in July. Her involvement with her sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha, has led alumnae members to campaign on her behalf. Additionally, Harris held a debate preparation session at Howard in August before facing off against Republican nominee Donald Trump. Notably, she announced her candidacy for the Democratic nomination in 2019 from Howard’s campus.
For Harris, her alma mater holds a special place in her heart and in the narrative of her path to the vice presidency. In her memoir, she expressed that Howard provided a space where individuals could break free from societal constraints and define themselves on their own terms.
Reflecting on her time at Howard, Harris wrote, “You didn’t have to be confined to the box of another person’s choosing. At Howard, you could come as you were and leave as the person you aspired to be.”
As the election night event unfolds on Tuesday, Harris may potentially make history as the first graduate of a Historically Black College or University (HBCU) to be elected president of the United States.