Vice President Kamala Harris spoke to 20,000 members of her sorority in Dallas on Wednesday. Harris is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, a historically Black sorority launched at Howard University in Washington D.C. in 1908.
Members are holding their national convention this week at Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center.
"Our founders believed in the power of sisterhood and service," Harris said.
Harris spoke for about 18 minutes and talked about President Joe Biden's reelection campaign. She said, "There is so much at stake in this moment."
"I do believe this is the most existential, consequential, and important election of our lifetimes," she said.
Harris described a "full-on assault" on the right to vote, stay safe from gun violence, live without fear of "bigotry and hate," freedom to "love who you love openly and with pride," and the freedom to acknowledge "our true and full history of America."
"These are not only basic freedoms and rights. These are the pillars of our liberty," she said.
Harris also talked about abortion. Since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, she said all southern states except Virginia have banned abortion.
"One does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree the government should not be telling her what to do with her body," she said. "If she chooses, she will talk with her priest, her pastor. But it should not be the government replacing her good judgment with its own. Faith and freedom can coexist."
Harris also referenced "Project 2025," a collection of policy proposals developed by the conservative Heritage Foundation.
"We have worked too hard and fought too long to see our daughters grow up in a world with fewer rights than our mothers," Harris said.
Harris did not mention President Joe Biden's age, debate performance or calls from some Democrats for him to drop his bid for reelection.
Last week, U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Austin) was the first Democratic member of Congress to suggest Biden drop out, saying he was "hopeful [Biden] will make the painful and difficult decision to withdraw."
"While much of his work has been transformational, he pledged to be transitional. He has the opportunity to encourage a new generation of leaders from whom a nominee can be chosen to unite our country through an open, democratic process," Doggett wrote in a statement.
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