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TWITTER Vice President Kamala Harris spoke to the AAPI audience at the Unity Summit |
Vice President Kamala Harris delivered the keynote summit at the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Unity Summit on Wednesday, calling on the country to unite around the community experiencing a sharp rise in violent hate crimes.
“In America, I do believe a harm against any one of us, is a harm against all of us,” said Harris, adding in part: “... Asian Americans have the right to be recognized as American, not as the other. Not as ‘them.’ But as ‘us.’”Harris, who is the daughter of Jamaican and Indian American immigrants, continued, “I know this past year has been marked by pain … when we saw the targeting, when we saw the hate, when we saw the viciousness of it all.
“As a member of this community, I share in that outrage and grief and I believe we have an opportunity now to turn that pain into action. To turn that pain, that righteous anger, because of the injustice of it, we have an opportunity to turn that into power.”
WATCH Vice President Harris' speech below.
She cited President Biden's intention to sign the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Bill that was passed by the House of Representatives Tuesday that was authored by Rep. Grace Meng, D-NY and Hawaii''s Sen. Mazie Hirono to combat the surging hate and violence directed at AAPI.
Harris called on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, the fastest growing demographic in the U.S., to use their growing political influence to make America better.
Harris noted that Asian Americans used mail-in ballots and early voting in the 2020 elections to make a difference. She pointed out the Republicans have hundreds of bills making voting more difficult.
“We must fight against those attacks,” Harris said. “We must see these efforts for what they are … they are an attempt to suppress the right to vote.”
“While we must be vigilant in defending the voting rights that currently exist, we must also do that and work to expand the right of all Americans to vote,” Harris said. “That includes urging Congress to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and urging the Senate to pass the For the People Act.”
Harris noted that Asian Americans used mail-in ballots and early voting in the 2020 elections to make a difference. She pointed out the Republicans have hundreds of bills making voting more difficult.
“We must fight against those attacks,” Harris said. “We must see these efforts for what they are … they are an attempt to suppress the right to vote.”
“While we must be vigilant in defending the voting rights that currently exist, we must also do that and work to expand the right of all Americans to vote,” Harris said. “That includes urging Congress to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and urging the Senate to pass the For the People Act.”
The unity Summit was convened by the AAPI Victory Alliance, a PAC lobbying for AAPI issues and to get more AAPI involved in politics.
Harris spoke ahead of a slew of other high-profile lawmakers, ranging from Democratic Sens. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, Hawaii's Sen. Mazie Hirono and Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Harris spoke ahead of a slew of other high-profile lawmakers, ranging from Democratic Sens. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, Hawaii's Sen. Mazie Hirono and Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Harris told her audience that Americans have a “unique opportunity now to shape our nation’s future, to transform how we live, how we work and how we vote for the better."
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