Vice President Kamala Harris participated in a live discussion with Tonya Mosley of NPR and WHYY, Gerren Keith Gaynor of TheGrio, and Eugene Daniels of Politico as part of a three-member panel from the National Association of Black Journalists on Tuesday in Philadelphia. She addressed crucial policy issues set to appear on the November ballot and discussed how her administration would tackle them if elected president.
During the nearly 60-minute session, Harris discussed significant matters affecting Black Americans, including economic insecurity, housing shortages and inadequate child and health care. She outlined her plan to address these issues by creating new housing through tax credits, providing financial assistance for first-time homebuyers, and expanding the child tax credit. She emphasized that these measures are designed to provide long-term relief and build a more equitable future for Black communities nationwide.
Many Black voters are concerned about President Joe Biden’s support for Israel in the Gaza conflict. Since the war began in October, young voters have increasingly questioned the administration’s response. A March Carnegie Endowment survey found 68% of Black Americans favor an “immediate and permanent ceasefire,” with 45% seeing parallels between the Palestinian plight and Black Americans’ historical struggles. As the Democratic presidential nominee, Harris has shown a somewhat different stance.
Mosley questioned Harris about her support of a ceasefire and a two-state solution, contrasting it with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s resistance, who argues that Israel has the right to defend itself.
Recently, Harris has faced pressure to differentiate her stance from the Biden administration’s approach to the Israel-Hamas war. Despite this, she has focused on advocating for a resolution and securing a deal while aligning with the current administration’s viewpoint.
“I absolutely believe that this war has to end, and it has to end as soon as possible, and the way that will be achieved is by getting a hostage deal and the ceasefire deal done, and we are working around the clock to achieve that end,” Harris said during her NABJ conversation.
In addition to foreign policy, domestic concerns such as reparations for Black Americans were addressed in the conversation. Gaynor discussed the late U.S. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee‘s bill, H.R. 40, which seeks to establish a commission to study the legacy of slavery and reparations. Although the bill has received local and state recognition, it has not yet been voted on by Congress. Advocates have urged Biden to sign an executive action to create the commission. Harris was asked if she would sign such an executive order if elected president or leave it to Congress to decide.
“I think Congress will ultimately have the ability to do this work,” Harris said. “I’m not discounting the importance of any executive action, but ultimately Congress. If you are going to talk about it in any substantial way, there will be hearings, and there will be a level of public education and dialogue that will ensure everyone participates in this conversation in a way that elevates knowledge about the history and the impetus of this conversation.”
The discussion also covered several other vital issues. Harris highlighted the impact of former President Donald Trump’s abortion bans on Black women in states like Georgia, advocated for engaging Black men in the electoral process, and condemned the racist depiction of Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio. She also addressed gun laws, noting her support for a ban on assault weapons while being a gun owner herself.
Despite gun violence in cities like Philadelphia, a recent study from the Center for American Progress revealed that the city has experienced the most significant decrease in gun violence among all major U.S. cities this year.
Even with Philadelphia’s significant decline in gun violence, handguns remain a considerable concern across the country. The FBI reports that 59% of shootings involve these weapons, emphasizing their substantial role in violent incidents. Harris was pressed on the issue of banning assault weapons while not addressing the problems posed by handguns.
Harris reaffirmed her stance on banning assault weapons and emphasized the need for background checks for all gun purchases. However, Mosley was disappointed with Harris’ response regarding the issue of handguns.
“I don’t think she answered my question,” Mosley told a Temple University student, noting she would have liked Harris to address crime prevention and the trauma associated with losing loved ones. “I would like to hear her expand on it. If we have a debate — though it sounds like we aren’t going to have any more before the presidential election — I would love for that to be asked on the debate stage and for us to get a little more granular on how that would work.”
Another student, Trinity Webster-Bass, a 21-year-old senior broadcasting major at Howard University, also hoped Harris would discuss gun control in more detail, specifically a buy-back program, an initiative where individuals can give their firearms to law enforcement in exchange for compensation. However, Webster-Bass believes Harris needs to talk more about this and other issues to those still uncertain about who to vote for in the election.
“I think she still has to win the vote of people who are in the middle and undecided,” she told Blavity. “She has to be very careful about what she chooses to say, especially relating to our policies because that is what a lot of people are listening for. We know her background; we know who she is; we know about her political career; but now we are looking to see how she will affect change in the White House.”
Blavity reported that the discussion came several weeks after Trump’s contentious interview at the NABJ convention earlier this summer.
Watch Harris’ entire conversation with the National Association of Black Journalists below.