BELOW: REMARKS BEFORE MEETING WITH LEADERS OF BLACK GREEK SORORITY AND FRATERNITY LEADERS, AKA "THE DIVINE 9"
Vice Pres. Kamala Harris met with the leaders of the Panhellinic Council (Black Greek letter organizations) on Wednesday, October 6 at the White House per her invitation.
A White House official told The Slice Report they were invited because the Biden Administration values the partnership with organizations that engage with their constituents and can be conduits in communicating the most relevant parts of Biden's Build Back Better agenda. Working together and individually, the organizations have certainly been intregal in the African American community from galvanizing voters to providing scholarships and educational opportunities. The Divine 9 have traditionally been "go-to" entities for reaching masses of African Americans. These groups united to usher in a win for the Biden-Harris ticket in the 2020 Presidential election as organizers of massive get out the vote efforts. Allof them embrace civic engagement.
Significantly, the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority of which the vice president is a member is a part of the group. During the campaign, the VP's pride in graduating from an HBCU and involvement with the Black sorority became a source of news interest. placing "Black Grreks" in mainstream consciousnes. The Divine 9 include:
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Founded 1906, Cornell University
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Founded 1908, Howard University
Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Founded 1911, Indiana University
Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Founded 1911, Howard University
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Founded 1913, Howard University
Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Founded 1914, Howard University
Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Founded 1920, Howard University
Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Founded 1922, Butler University
Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Founded 1963, Morgan State University
Following their meeting there was a controversial remark made about Harris' role and job performance being hindered in the daily briefing.
REMARKS BEFORE MEETING WITH LEADERS OF BLACK GREEK SORORITY AND FRATERNITY LEADERS, AKA "THE DIVINE 9"
Below are introductory comments the vice president made in the presence of a press pool before conducting the media with her guests. She addressed what she would be discussing in the meeting which included voting rights.
VP: Well, it's my great honor to welcome, to officially welcome at my invitation my Divine 9 family and these great national and international leaders. We have so much to discuss and I'm looking forward to that conversation. But this invitation has been made, was made, even before our arrival at the White House, understanding the historic, the current and the future roles that members of each of these Divine 9 organizations play in every sector of our society, and in every way both historically, currently and in the future.
And for the President and for me, it is very important that we collaborate [inaudible], knowing that we face so many challenges, every country, knowing that we are entering in many ways a new era, when those challenges are taking on race, but also in the midst of those challenges we see opportunities not only important [inaudible].
And so I've asked these Divine 9 leaders to come in to share with me about the work that we are doing and the work continue to do, to uplift and to reach out to all the people in our nation to understand and to both engage and to acknowledge and to improve. So, I thank you all, and those who do not know, it is leaders, historically and currently, the Divine 9 who have been national leaders on issues like voting rights.
You know I've been reminded of recently of a photograph in black and white — I believe it was with President Truman — but a group of Black sororities who met in the White House [inaudible] talking about the need to protect voting rights for women of America. The leaders of the fraternities of the Divine 9 who had a vision for what the Civil Rights movement should be, and then led that movement, I think about the leaders of industry, the leaders of our [inaudible] sector, the leaders of innovation, and all of them are represented [inaudible].
And as we move forward we are also, as an administration, working to build back better. We've had some legislation that we are proposing and working on that would invest in a number of sectors of society, that will produce great growth. One of them is our HBCU's. And of course we have great presidents at each of the Divine 9 organizations at our HBCU's, as well as many other academic institutions, and so we're going to talk a bit about that and what we can do to work together to support our agencies, student and graduate. There is a challenge right now in our nation, as we know, from those who would attack voting rights.
As the great Corretta Scott King reminded us, the fight for civil rights must be fought by each and every generation and when that fight [inaudible], and it begins with those Divine 9 leaders, who have been the leaders in that fight and that that struggle. We know that will be front and center for us [inaudible]. And so I'm looking forward to the conversation that we will have about our continuing role to organize and help folks fight for their Constitutional rights. And then in short on that piece what we can do together is to push for the advancement and passage of the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. And finally again I want to welcome each one of you and thank you for the work that you do, for the work that you have begun, and at this table are representatives of organizations that have formed and shaped who we are as a nation that have challenged us to live up to our ideals.
Pool question 1: Madame President, what is your promise to the Black agenda when it comes to voting rights?
Pool question 2: What's your message to Senator Manchin [inaudible]...
(pool ushered out)