Vice President Kamala Harris is going full steam ahead as she continues her campaign trail leading up to the highly-anticipated 2024 presidential elections.
This time, she’s made a stop at Queen City Wednesday, where she is currently on her Economic Opportunity Tour, focused on “investing in communities, building wealth, and ensuring every American has the freedom to thrive,” according to a statement from the White House.
North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper and Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles greeted the vice president when she arrived to discuss the administration’s top priorities, including economic policies. She was accompanied by South Carolina state representative Bakari Sellers and actor Michael Ealy during the conversation held at Johnson C. Smith University.
Last month, Harris visited Detroit, a pivotal city in a crucial swing state, to underscore the administration’s investments in Black-owned businesses and policy initiatives aimed at fostering generational wealth, especially among Black voters.
Her visit coincided with a flurry of diverse events, including Israel’s rejection of a cease-fire negotiated by Egypt and Qatar, which Hamas had accepted, and Columbia University canceling its commencement due to weeklong protests and counter-protests on campus. Nearby, pro-Palestinian demonstrators staged protests against the White House’s backing of Israel’s military actions in Gaza, branding Vice President Harris as “war criminal Kamala Harris.”
Harris’s second stop at Detroit’s renowned Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History featured speeches aimed at energizing and mobilizing the Democratic Party’s core constituency—Black voters—alongside a significant announcement: the allocation of $100 million in federal funds to support small and medium-sized auto parts manufacturers, including Black-owned businesses, in producing components for electric vehicles.
“We all know Black entrepreneurs do not lack for ideas or ambition but often lack the capital that is necessary to turn an idea into a thriving business, to invest in inventory, hire employees, to scale up,” she said. “In fact, Black entrepreneurs are three times as likely to not apply for a loan, for fear they’re going to be turned away from a bank.”
