Vice President Harris will not speak at Howard University tonight

Vice President Kamala Harris is hosting an election night event at Howard University, where she graduated with a degree in economics and political science in 1986 and was an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. Harris will attend the watch party alongside her Husband, Doug Emhoff, who teaches at the Georgetown University Law Center.

Follow along with the Voice’s coverage of Harris’ election night party as polls close across the nation.

12:42 a.m. update: Harris will not speak at Howard University tonight 

At this point, the AP has called North Carolina for Trump and CNN just called Georgia for Trump as well. These updates have put a pallor over the Harris event, with the crowd silently glued to the screens, watching for more updates. 

Cedric Richmond, a top advisor to the DNC and Vice President Harris’s campaign, just announced that Harris will not speak tonight. 

“We still have votes to count, we still have states that have not been called yet, we will fight to makes sure that all votes will be counted,” Richmond said speaking to the crowd. “You will not hear from the Vice President tonight, but she will be here tomorrow.” 

Following this announcement, supporters started leaving. The Yard is nearly clear of rally participants.

12:04 a.m. update

As votes are counted in Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona, and Nevada, rally participants wait. Pop hits play over the loudspeakers, occasionally being interrupted by CNN’s latest projections.

10:26 p.m. update

As the AP shows former President Trump ahead in Georgia and North Carolina, rally participants anxiously watch a jumbotron playing CNN. There are some boos in the crowd, but overall people are silent. Some attendees in the back are waving flags while the press frantically types on their laptops.

Cheers break the crowd’s silence as CNN projects Colorado for Harris, coupled with some boos as Mississippi is called for Trump. Following this win, and as the early numbers now show Harris ahead in Michigan, the mood of the crowd seems to have lightened somewhat.

9:16 p.m.: Polls close in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia

Polls in D.C. and Maryland closed at 8 p.m., while polls in Virginia closed at 7 p.m. 

As of 9:16 p.m. the AP has called Texas, Ohio, Wyoming, Louisiana, South and North Dakota, Nebraska, Arkansas, South Carolina, Florida, Oklahoma, Alabama, Mississippi, West Virginia, Kentucky and Indiana for Trump. 

The AP has also called Vermont, Maryland, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Delaware, Illinois, and New York. 

8:28 p.m.: Voice reporters arrive at Howard

Howard University is commonly referred to as “the Mecca” for its role as a beacon of Black thought. Harris’ election night event is set up in Howard’s central quad, known as “The Yard.” It has been the site for many commencement ceremonies and a backdrop for various speeches from U.S. presidents including Calvin Coolidge in 1924, Herbert Hoover in 1932, Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1965, Barack Obama in 2016, and most recently Joe Biden, who gave the commencement address in 2023. 

Bleachers flank the perimeter of the Yard and are positioned in front of Founders Library and Locke Hall. The press is also here in full force: scores of broadcast cameras are set up on risers in front of the Blackburn Center, and dozens of hungry reporters are waiting in line for Chik-fil-a. 

There are thousands of people gathering, and the atmosphere is upbeat. CNN is playing on jumbotrons and when a state is projected for Harris cheers erupt through the crowd.