Vice President Kamala Harris will be in Dallas on Wednesday to speak to a gathering of about 20,000 members of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., a historically Black international service organization focused on social justice.
The visit comes as Harris, who is campaigning for reelection alongside President Joe Biden, is being floated as a potential replacement for Biden at the top of the ticket after the president’s halting debate performance last month. Biden has repeatedly said he will stay in the race.
Harris, a member of the sorority, will address the Dallas gathering at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center as part of Harris’ “Summer of Engagement” tour.
She also plans to speak at a gathering of the Zeta Phi Beta, another influential Black sorority, in Indianapolis later this month. The tour “will be a continuation of her intentional efforts to build coalitions while speaking directly with Black Americans, women, young leaders, and community leaders from throughout the nation,” according to a July 3 White House statement.
At the sorority’s national convention in Dallas, Harris is expected to promote the Biden administration’s work supporting economic opportunity and urge support for abortion rights, gun restrictions, better voting access and environmental protections.
“This keynote address by Harris allows us to continue the efforts of our international program initiative, ‘Advocate for Social Justice,’” Alpha Kappa Alpha said on Instagram.
AKA, with about 360,000 members at campus-based organizations in 12 countries, is led by International President & CEO Danette Anthony Reed of Dallas. The organization was founded in 1908 on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C., making it the nation’s oldest Greek-lettered organization established by African American women.
