“When we vote, we make history,” Harris tells gathering of historically Black sorority

Vice President Kamala Harris adressed members of the historically Black sorority Zeta Phi Beta on Wednesday (Jul. 24) asking for their help in electing her president in November.

“In this moment, I believe we face a choice between two different visions for our nation, one focused on the future, the other focused on the past," she said in a speech in Indianapolis, three days after launching her bid for the White House. "And with your support, I am fighting for our nation’s future.”

Voters in Indiana haven't backed a Democratic presidential candidate in nearly 16 years. But the biennial meeting of roughly 6,000 people, mostly women, is part of a constituency she hopes will turn out for her in massive numbers: women of color.

Harris, a woman of Jamaican and Indian descent, was speaking to a group already excited by her historic status as the likely Democratic nominee and one that her campaign hopes can expand its coalition.

In a memo released Wednesday, campaign chair Jen O'Malley Dillon pointed to support among female, nonwhite and younger voters as critical to success.