Harris concedes race to stunned Howard University

On Wednesday evening, as the sun set behind Howard University’s Frederick Douglass Memorial Hall, Vice President Kamala Harris appeared—nearly 16 hours after she was scheduled to appear—to confirm the worst fears of most in attendance.

“While I recognize this election, I do not recognize the struggle that fueled this campaign,” she said. “Now is not the time to give up. It’s time to roll up your sleeves.”

After planting a flag at a historically Black university. Yesterday’s Election Watch Party— the first campaign to be held on a college campus — Harris did not mention Howard in her speech. However, she spontaneously broke into an energetic chant for Howard, shouting “HU” to the crowd, who eagerly responded, “You know!”

In contrast to Tuesday night’s line dance, many Howard students and alumni back on campus milled around warily, talking in hushed tones about the future of the country. There weren’t many tears or expressions of indignation in the Yard environment, but there were a lot of hugs.

“Everyone is taking baby steps,” said one graduate, who declined to give his name. “We are here. We are alive today. That’s the main thing at the moment.”

Harris struck a gracious but decisive tone in her speech, committing to a peaceful transition of power and offering words of comfort to the HBCU representatives in attendance and her supporters watching across the country.

“I know a lot of people feel like we’re entering dark times,” she said. “Please know that everything will be okay.”

Jamela, a Howard graduate student who asked to be identified only by her first name, attended the party Tuesday night. She was surprised and disappointed by the election results; she felt that history was repeating itself against all odds.

Still, she returned to campus Wednesday afternoon to show support for the vice president and her Howard community—and to receive it in turn.

“It means a lot to us to be together right now,” she said. “Howard is a Mecca; there are so many great leaders growing here who… She won’t be the last Buffalo to blaze this trail.”

A graduate student at Howard School of Education, Jamela said she fears for teachers and education in America as a whole. under Trump’s presidency. She’s especially concerned that he might try abolish the education department and deal a blow to what she sees as gradual but meaningful progress toward equality in access to education.

“This election and what comes next is incredibly important for teachers, students, schools, colleges and universities,” she said. “I’m ready to fight… but I’m very concerned about what this means for our future.”