Bringing the fight to Los Angeles, Kamala Harris’ campaign resonated with local voters.
Presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris held an organizing event at Los Angeles Southwest College on Sunday, May 19, where she addressed hot button issues including the economy, teacher wages, gender pay gap, healthcare, and gun control.
LASC is located in south Los Angeles, where the majority of the student population is comprised of black students.
Before Harris made her appearance onstage, several politicians of diverse backgrounds such as California Secretary of State Alex Padilla and Sen. Holly Mitchell endorsed her campaign. The event also included entertainment from members of Amazing Grace Conservatory, an organization that helps artists and at-risk youth.
When Harris walked onstage, the diverse crowd immediately met her with cheers and applause.
“Senator Harris never fails to energize a crowd,” UCLA student Bryant Odega said.
She started her speech by thanking the politicians and leaders who endorsed her before she took the stage, and she set a theme for her speech: speaking truth.
“Well, one of the most important ingredients in trust, is truth,” she said. “But, there’s a funny thing about truth. Speaking truth can often make people quite uncomfortable.”
“I believe this is a moment in time where leaders must speak truth,” Harris added.
The word “fight” inundated the speeches of both Harris and her endorsers. The phrase “let’s speak truth” was also the precursor to many of the statements of issues she addressed, from concerns regarding discrimination and prejudice to ones about health care and gun violence.
During her speech, she explained her policy plans, one of which would actively seek to close the gender pay gap while also making it a national priority. Her plan, details of which were announced the day after the event, involves corporation accountability through transparency in their wages to women and men. She cited that women, on average, earn “80 cents to the dollar for the exact same work. Black women are paid 61 cents on the dollar. Latinas are paid 53 cents on the dollar.”
“I strongly believe that when you lift up the economic status of women, you lift up the economic status of their families, their neighborhoods, and all of society,” she said in a press interview after the event. “And it’s an issue that has been around for just far too long, without much progress at all.”
The Democratic candidate also highlighted teacher pay, saying “I can not tell you the number of teachers I have met who are working two, sometimes three, jobs.” She proposed a plan that would increase wages by $13,500 a year for public school teachers, and according to the policy proposal her campaign released in March, it would cost about $315 million over 10 years.
Other plans Harris introduced in her speech included giving tax credit to families who earn less than $100,000 a year. As for gun violence, she plans to allot United States Congress “100 days to pull their act together” to create a bill, a sentiment she has expressed before.
Harris ended her speech on a high note.
“This is a fight that is not only about about the soul of our country. It is about love of country, and this is a fight we will win!”
