A Bison is Born 

In Fall 1982, Harris made the trek to Washington, D.C., to the hallowed grounds of Howard University.  She already certain of who she was — and, seemingly, who she desired to be. 

In her 2019 memoir “The Truths We Hold,” Harris delved into her abiding passion for social justice and how that interest —by one of the nation’s most iconic attorneys and civil rights icons — influenced her decision to attend Howard University for her postsecondary education. 

“I wanted to get off on the right foot,’” Harris wrote. “And what better place to do that, I thought, than at Thurgood Marshall’s alma mater?” 

Harris pursued political science and economics as her majors and immediately demonstrated both her intellectual curiosity and spirit for service during her years at The Mecca. Her first campaign came as a first-year undergraduate for the Liberal Arts Student Council. She later chaired the Economics Society and became a standout on the University’s speech and debate team, refining the rhetorical skills fundamental to her professional career. Harris also was selected as one of 38 spring 1986 initiates into the Alpha chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, the oldest Black Greek letter organization for women. 

“When you’re at an HBCU, and especially one with the size and with the history of Howard University — and also in the context of also being in DC, which was known forever as being ‘Chocolate City’ — it just becomes about you understanding that there is a whole world of people who are like you,” Harris was quoted in a 2019 Washington Post article. “It’s not just about there are a few of us who may find each other.” 

Harris would also begin to leverage her access to the levers of power stationed in the nation’s capital, joining her fellow Bison in anti-apartheid protests at the National Mall and the South African embassy.  

Ahead of her third year at Howard, Harris interned in the office of California Senator Alan Cranston, a seat to which she herself would ascend three decades later. During her Howard undergraduate career, Harris would also secure internships with the Federal Trade Commission and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. 

By Harris’ college graduation in 1986, she was primed for a career in the legal field, undergirded by the classroom education and experiential learning opportunities provided to her by Howard University. Soon, she would be making history as an attorney in California, and as a civil servant for the nation. 

“The thing that Howard taught me is that you can do any collection of things, and not one thing to the exclusion of the other,” Harris said. “You could be homecoming queen and valedictorian.  

There are no false choices at Howard.” 

Building A Career on Justice 

Harris’ experience on the debate team at Howard no doubt prepared her for the next chapters in her journey. She earned a law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of Law. As a young prosecutor in Alameda County, Calif., she took on tough cases in Berkeley and Oakland in the height of the crack epidemic. She also dealt with child sexual assault.  

She defeated an incumbent to become the district attorney in San Francisco, the first Black person to do so in the state of California. True to her philosophy of not accepting false choices, Harris focused on aggressively prosecuting criminals but also creating paths to rehabilitation.  She helped non-violent criminals get job training and worked to keep young offenders in school. 

“In my career, the conventional wisdom was that people are either soft on crime or tough on crime, but I knew we should be smart on crime,” she told the audience at the Howard University's 149th Commencement. 

She waged a campaign for attorney general promising to be a pragmatic law enforcer, and instituted unprecedent policies to tackle issues. She tackled an alarming trend in truancy by implementing laws which held parents accountable and led to parental prosecutions. She defended the state death penalty law even though she was personally opposed to it.  

“She is focused on the end result and the impact she can have on people’s lives less than the process,” Brian Brokaw, who managed Harris’ state attorney general campaigns, told the BBC.  

Harris had a full circle moment in 2016 when she was elected to the U.S. Senate to represent California, given that she interned for Senator Alan Cranston as a mailroom clerk as a Howard student. She inherited the seat from the legendary Barbara Boxer. In the Senate, she brought her prosecutorial style to Senate hearings, helping to hold administration officials accountable. She also advocated for stricter gun control legislation. 

An Inclusive Vice Presidency 

The Harris and Biden Administration’s record includes multi-dynamic initiatives in aspects of American work life, protection against climate change, and economic rebuild after the pandemic. 

“There’s no question that working people are paying more gas, more groceries and that is why for our administration it is one of our highest priorities to bring down the costs,” Harris told reporter Robert Costa during her Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan appearance on July 10, 2022.  

This year alone, The Biden-Harris administration signed the Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, which proposes $42.45 billion for high-speed internet access and the appropriate infrastructure to hold the bandwidth. Demanding internet for all, the latest BEAD funds have granted 2.4 million homes and small businesses with premium internet access. 

The Biden-Harris administration’s policies include the Inflation Reduction Act which made insulin prices cap at $35 for more than 8 million Americans. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law also emphasizes improvements in the areas of transportation, environmental, and broadband access. 

An Alumna Elevates America’s HBCUs  

A proud Howard alumna, Harris also zeroed in on expanding the resources, opportunities, and services that HBCUs provide. As of October 9, The Harris-Biden Administration totaled their HBCU federal investments to $17 billion. The administration cited that, though HBCUs make up just 3% of all higher education institutions, HBCUs house “twice as many Pell grantees from low- and middle-income families.” This rings true for Howard especially, as an estimated 41% of the student body receive federal Pell grants. 

Their Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, a student debt relief plan for nearly 5 million Americans was a direct attempt at eradicating America’s racial wealth gap. According to the Education Data Initiative, forgiving student debt affects Black college graduates who owe nearly $25,000 more than white college graduates. 

Harris has also invited HBCU students to The White House.  Last February, The Biden-Harris administration hosted their HBCU Celebration Day in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building to close out Black History Month. Student leaders and graduates gathered to discuss policy issues affecting HBCUs along with workforce advice for those graduating in Spring 2024. 

In 2023, 32 HBCU student journalists were invited to The White House in an intimate question-and-answer session that delved into the importance of their work from the experience of an HBCU education. Keisha Lance Bottoms, the former senior advisor to President Biden and alumna of Florida A&M University, facilitated the event. 

“One of the blessings that I realized is [we] have a special responsibility, because you have had the good fortune and blessing of being in an academic environment that, in every way, from the walls that were constructed in your classmates and why they were built, you have the unique ability to know that we are counting on you and you represent the best of who we are,” Harris told the HBCU student journalists. “We are requiring you to lead because we have learned in [HBCUs] that we stand on broad shoulders. They imagined we’d be having this conversation at the White House.”  

Harris’ seven-stop HBCU Homecoming Tour was another intimate look for HBCU students and gave young Black voters an opportunity to understand her campaign up-close.  Howard University 100th Homecoming anniversary celebration was slated for the opportunity, however, instead of an in-person appearance, Harris wrote an exclusive letter to The Hilltop.  

“At Howard, we learn that we have the capacity to be great and also that we have the responsibility to work hard to live up to that potential each day,” Harris wrote to Howardites. “We know more needs to be done, and we look forward to continuing to work alongside you as we build a brighter future for all.” 

As Harris eyed American history as the first Black woman and South Asian woman to become president, the first president to hail from an HBCU, she returned to Alma Mater to begin a new chapter.  

The Harris-Walz campaign decided on The Yard as their final stop of relentless campaigning to convince voters that Harris, once a Bison with just a vision and self-belief , could etch a new chapter of American history. 

“The first office I ever ran for was freshman class representative at Howard University,” Harris told V-103 Radio Station the morning of the election. “To go back tonight to Howard, my beloved alma mater, and be able to hopefully...recognize this day for what it is, it’s full circle for me.”  

An age-old mantra says that Black people have to be twice as good to get half as far. At no time was that adage on fuller display than during the 2024 presidential cycle, when Harris was called upon to stand up a presidential campaign in the shortest amount of time any major party candidate has ever attempted. 

But Harris proved she was up to this task, and she and other Bison will continue to elevate humanity through their extraordinary competence and commitment. She put it best in her 2017 Commencement speech. 

“Because you are a Howard graduate, the bar is high,” she said, “Which means you must be on the front line. You must be the first to raise your hand. You must be at the front of the line. You must lead. The bar can sometimes feel so high. It takes so much time and effort to reach it. So much sweat and so many tears. Being human, we sometimes fall short. That is ok. Because you went to Howard University, you have a responsibility to keep reaching for that bar and keep serving.”