I saw Harris’ concession speech – here’s what I heard from black women

I was there to cover the event, but it wasn’t my first visit to Howard’s campus. While attending Syracuse University in New York, my friends and I took annual trips to Howard’s homecoming, which just celebrated its 100th anniversary in October. But the cheerful atmosphere that usually permeates events at The Yard, the main square on campus, was replaced by a sombre atmosphere on Wednesday as crowds gathered to listen to her concession speech.

People of all ages and races lined the campus, where remnants of election night could still be seen. Many were black women who had attended Harris’ wake party Tuesday night and returned despite not getting much sleep.

“I think if I’m here to celebrate with her, then I should be here as she accepts her loss in this case,” said Gaelyn Smith, 26, a D.C. native.

That kind of support has buoyed Harris’ campaign since its inception, when about 44,000 participants flooded a Zoom call organized by Win With Black Women founder Jotaka Eaddy. This call and others brought in $1.6 million in one evening.

Smith says she also voted for Clinton in 2016 and the loss feels similar. “At some point maybe I’ll feel hopeful, maybe I’ll feel different,” Smith said.

Sheryl Estrada

Deborah (who did not reveal her last name), a black woman in her 70s and second-generation Washington native, also attended Harris’ concession speech.

“I felt like this was a good way to find closure for myself,” she told me. She also brought her young grandson and made it his first political event. “The opportunity to have Kamala Harris as our president just meant the world to me,” she said.

Looking ahead to the next four years, Deborah said she is both hopeful and afraid.

“I hope that we can see something different than what we were shown throughout Donald Trump’s campaign,” she said. “But because of the way he ran his campaign and the people surrounding him, it gives me a certain sense of fear about what might come.”

While waiting for Harris to take the stage, I also heard the “Skee-Wee” call as members of her sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., greeted each other. Founded in Howard in 1908, today it has more than 1,000 chapters in 11 countries and all 50 U.S. states.

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When Harris took the stage and began her speech just before 4:30 p.m., the sombre crowd began cheering voraciously, but many also shed tears. Harris said accepting the election results was “a fundamental principle of American democracy,” along with loyalty to the U.S. Constitution, conscience and God.

“I know that many people feel that we are entering a dark time,” she said during the speech. “But for everyone’s sake, I hope that’s not the case. But here’s the thing: America, if it is, let us fill the sky with the light of a bright, shining billion of stars – the light of optimism, faith, truth and service.”

As I was taking notes, at one point I put down my pen and pad to comfort a young supporter who began to cry. Those present gathered around her with words of comfort: “Everything will be okay” and “We did this.”

Even as supporters grappled with their hopes for the end of a Harris presidency, there was a sense of resilience as they left The Yard and a sense that the history being made there will only continue.

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