HAMPTON, Va. — Vice President Kamala Harris arrived in Hampton Roads for her Hampton University visit on Thursday.
She was greeted by Newport News Mayor Phillip Jones upon landing at the Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport.
Her appearance at the university marks the first stop of her nationwide “Fight for Our Freedoms College Tour,” in which she plans to rally and mobilize young adults to stand up for their fundamental rights.
These rights, as noted in a White House press release, include voting rights, gun safety, reproductive freedom and more.
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Hampton University students get ready for Vice President Kamala Harris visit
News 3 spoke with some students ahead of the visit, who expressed the significance of Vice President Harris’ appearance.
“For her to be visiting Hampton, not only an HBCU, but the rival of the school that she attended is major,” said Lillian Carr, the Hampton University Student Government Association President. “I mean, I think it really just goes to show how important we are and how she sees or views us in this conversation.”
This isn’t the Vice President’s first time visiting Hampton University: she visited two years ago to discuss the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to strengthen HBCU’s (historically Black colleges and universities).
On Thursday, she reiterated the administration's commitment to investing in HBCUs.
"...our HBCUs are some of the greatest centers of academic excellence. We have now invested over $7 billion on our HBCUs," said Vice President Harris.
During the conversation, attended by several hundred people, Vice President Harris encouraged people to vote, citing the importance of the issues at stake.
"We’ve got a fight on our hands right now. We are fighting for our democracy, and this is real. These attacks on voting rights, on a person’s ability to make decisions about their own body, on issues like affirmative action, on issues that are about what makes for reasonable gun safety laws. This stuff is real. And it’s happening right now in real time. But I am optimistic because I know that our leaders are up for this challenge and will not be denied," she said.
She also took aim at Virginia's elections, where early voting begins a week from Friday and said abortion rights are at stake in the elections.
Every seat of the General Assembly is on the ballot. Gov. Youngkin has come out in support of a 15-week ban on abortion.
"The concern we have is that the governor here has said that he would sign a ban on access to abortion if the legislature passes it," she said. "We'll make sure the legislature agrees that y'all shouldn't be making these decisions for folks."
Virginia's GOP responded as well, stating: “Kamala Harris is the most unpopular vice president in history, and her visit today is just another reminder of how the Biden/Harris administration and their radical policies are bad for our country and bad for Virginia. While students at Hampton University heard plenty of empty talking points, what they didn’t hear was how the price of everything from a cup of coffee to a gallon of gas is going through the roof, and how Democrat policies are killing their chances of landing a good job and living the American Dream.”
The discussion lasted for about 45-minutes or so with Harris telling the students they have the ability to help set the course for the nation.
"It's the nature of things that with each generation we must fight for our rights and our freedoms, so just stay active because I and our country are counting on all of you," she told the crowd.
Stay with News 3 for updates on the Vice President’s visit.
