MIAMI — Vice President Kamala Harris arrived at Florida International University Thursday afternoon, the sixth stop on her monthlong “Fight for our Freedoms” college tour and her first stop in Florida.
The conversation with students began about 3 p.m., moderated by rapper and Miami resident Fat Joe and actor and singer Anthony Ramos.
“Today we’re gonna have some real talk,” Harris said as she addressed the crowd ahead of the conversation. “I’m clear-eyed that at this moment in our country we are witnessing an intentional, full-on attack against hard-earned freedoms and rights. It is incumbent on us, then, to not just stand by and let it happen.”
The Fight for our Freedoms tour focuses on “key issues that disproportionately impact young people across America,” according to a release from the Office of the Vice President.
Harris’ stops include HBCUs, community colleges, apprenticeship programs, and Hispanic-serving Institutions like FIU, one of the nation’s largest.
The tour touches on issues “from reproductive freedom and gun safety to climate action, voting rights, LGBTQ+ equality, mental health, and book bans,” a release about the event says, many issues to which Florida residents are particularly sensitive.
Students asked Harris prepared questions Thursday about many of those issues, including abortion, gun violence,