Remarks by Vice President Harris at Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated’s Grand Boulé

Indiana Convention Center

Indianapolis, Indiana

12:50 P.M. EDT

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Good afternoon.  (Applause.)  Good afternoon, everyone.  Good afternoon.  Please have a seat.  Good afternoon.

I was just saying to your most glorious president, Stacie NC Grant, she and I talked about this visit months ago, sitting together, having a meeting in the Oval Office.  And we were tal- — and she invited me then to attend today.  And — and I just want to — I — if I can, I just want to thank you in front of all of the sisters who are here.  (Applause.) 

She has provided years of support and friendship.  And she always — like everyone here knows, she always shows up.  And I’m so, so deeply grateful.  Thank you.

And to everyone here, it is so good to be with you.

To the former presidents who are in attendance; to the International Board of Directors; and to all of the fine members of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated — (laughs) — (applause) — it is my great, great honor to be with you today.

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  We love you!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And I love you back.  (Laughs.)

And also, I — I — on Air Force Two, joining me, is Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove.  (Applause.)  And I know here is also our dearest Mrs. Opal Lee, the grandmother of Juneteenth.  (Applause.) 

Oh, there she is.  (Laughs.)  Right there.

And to all of the distinguished ladies, I thank you so very much for this warm welcome.

And I will begin by saying a few words about our president, Joe Biden.  So, tonight — (applause).  Yes, thank you.  Yes.

So, tonight, our president will address the nation about his decision to step down as a candidate, and he will talk about not only the work — the extraordinary work that he has accomplished but about his work in the next six months.

And so, before he does and while I am here with you, I want to just share with you a little bit about him based on what I know, based on personal experience. 

Joe Biden is a leader with bold vision.  He cares about the future.  He thinks about the future.  He has extraordinary determination and profound compassion for the people of our country.  And I say that because I know that we are all deeply, deeply grateful for his service to our nation.  (Applause.)

And to the sisters of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated, I thank you — (applause) — for your incredible service to our nation as well.

You know, I — I know who we all are.  I know who is here.  And I know, therefore, that we share a vision for the future of our nation — a future where every person has the opportunity not just to get by but to get ahead; a future of social justice, health justice, economic justice — just as you have laid out in this year’s theme.

Ours is a vision of a future in which we realize the promise of America.  And I deeply believe in the promise of America: a promise of freedom, opportunity, and justice not for some but for all.

And for generations, the Finer Women of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated, have fought to build that brighter future. 

During the Civil Rights Movement, you marched for voting rights, economic justice, and an end to segregation.  For more than 50 years, you have worked with the March of Dimes to lift up the urgent issue of maternal health.  (Applause.)  And from the 1980s, you inaugurated Zeta Days.

And I will tell you, when I was a United States senator, I would see this group of powerful leaders walking through the halls of Congress in white and blue — (laughter) — and I always knew I was looking at some of the most powerful advocates for justice in America.  (Applause.)  Truly.

And, of course, your leadership continued in 2020, when, during the height of a pandemic, you helped elect Joe Biden president of the United States — (applause) — and me as the first woman vice president of the United States.  (Applause.)  And I thank you. 

And now, in this moment, our nation needs your leadership once again.

In this moment, I believe we face a choice between two different visions for our nation: one focused on the future, the other focused on the past.

And with your support, I am fighting for our nation’s future.

And let us be clear about what that future looks like.  I know the leaders in this room, and I know the future we believe in and we fight for.

We here believe in a future where, for example, everyone has affordable health care — (applause) — which is why our administration capped the cost of insulin for our seniors at $35 a month.  (Applause.)

We believe in a future where no child has to grow up in poverty, which is why I helped pass the Child Tax Credit, which cut child poverty in half — (applause) — and cut Black child poverty even more.  (Applause.)

We believe in a future where the economy works for working people.  That is why we forgave student loan debt for more than 5 million Americans.  (Applause.)  And if you or anyone you know benefitted from that, please testify.  (Laughs.)  (Applause.)

And we are finally making it so that medical debt can no longer be used against your credit score.  (Applause.) 

And it is because of our collective vision for the future that we continue to fight for affordable childcare, affordable elder care, and paid family leave.  (Applause.)

We here believe in a future where all women and all mothers are safe.  That is why, as vice president, I have elevated and took on the crisis of maternal mortality, knowing that women in America die at a higher rate in connection with childbirth than women in any other wealthy nation in the world and Black women are three times more likely to die in connection with childbirth.  And for too long, this has been a crisis in our country.  And it is time that we recognize the crisis it is.

In fact, when I took office, I challenged every state in our nation on this issue.  Because, you see, I said, “Look, we need to extend Medicaid postpartum coverage from a measly two months to a full year.” 

And I am proud to report, whereas when I issued the challenge only three states offered a full year of coverage, now 46 states do.  (Applause.)

So, I say, as we work to build a brighter future and to move our nation forward, we must also recognize there are those who are trying to take us backward.

You may have seen their agenda.  Part of it is called Project 2025. 

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Now, can you believe they put it in writing?  Nine hundred pages of it.

Project 2025: a plan to return America to a dark past.

They intend to cut Medicare; to repeal our $35 cap on insulin; to eliminate the Department of Education; to end programs like Head Start, which would take away pre-school for hundreds of thousands of children in our communities.

Let’s be clear: This represents an outright attack on our children, our families, and our future.

These extremists want to take us back.  But we are not going back.  We are not going back.  (Applause.)

Ours is a fight for the future.  And ours is a fight for freedom.

Across our nation, we are witnessing a full-on assault on hard-fought, hard-won freedoms and rights: the freedom to vote, the freedom to be safe from gun violence, the freedom to live without fear of bigotry and hate, the freedom to love who you love openly and with pride, the freedom to learn and acknowledge our true and full history, and the freedom of a woman to make decisions about her own body and not have her government telling her what to do.  (Applause.)

And in the face of these attacks, we must continue to stand together in defense of freedom.

We who believe in the sacred freedom to vote will make sure, then, that every American has the ability to cast their ballot and have it counted.

We who believe that every person in our nation should be free from gun violence will finally pass universal background checks, red flag laws, and an assault weapons ban.  (Applause.)

We who believe that every person in our nation should be free from bigotry, discrimination, and hate will continue to fight for equality and justice for all.

And we who believe in reproductive freedom will fight for a woman’s right to choose, because one does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree the government should not be telling her what to do.  (Applause.)

You know, when he was president, Donald Trump, the former president, hand-picked three members of the United States Supreme Court because he intended for them to overturn Roe v. Wade — the United States Supreme Court — previously the court of Thurgood and RBG.  And as he intended, they did.

Well, let me tell you something.  When I am president of the United States — (applause) — and when Congress passes a law to restore those freedoms, I will sign it into law.  (Applause.)

We are not playing around.  (Laughter and applause.) 

So, in conclusion, to the incredible members of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated, I say: There is so much at stake in this moment.  There’s so much at stake.

And again, then, in this moment, our nation, as it always has, is counting on you to energize, to organize, and to mobilize; to register folks to vote, to get them to the polls; and to continue to fight for the future our nation and her people deserve. 

And we know when we organize, mountains move.  (Applause.)  When we mobilize, nations change.  (Applause.)  And when we vote, we make history.  (Applause.)

So let continue to fight with optimism, with faith, and with hope.  Because when we fight, we win.

God bless you.  And God bless the United States of America.  (Applause.)  God bless you.

Thank you.

                             END                1:05 P.M. EDT