Kamala Harris slams DEI opponents in FIU speech
'They’re trying to say that that’s a bad word, that’s a bad phrase, that it's bad to focus on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion,' she said on her 'Fight for Our Freedoms College Tour.'
Harris also talked to students about the importance of voting rights, LGBT freedoms, abortion, and climate change.
Vice President Kamala Harris claimed DEI is under attack in a recent speech at Florida International University in Miami.
“They’re trying to say that that’s a bad word, that’s a bad phrase, that it’s bad to focus on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion,” she said on Sept. 28 while on her “Fight for Our Freedoms College Tour.”
In May 2023, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed SB 266, legislation that banned DEI initiatives in Florida public colleges.
[RELATED: Kamala Harris discusses abortion access with university leaders]
SB 266 has been widely condemned by Democratic lawmakers, with Democrat State Representative Angie Nixon calling the House counterpart version a “dangerous road of censorship.”
“You know what they’re up to. They’re trying to do the same thing they did with ‘woke,’” Harris told the FIU audience. “They’re trying to turn it against the people who understand exactly why it is important.”
Harris used the stage at FIU to address issues that resonate with a young, liberal, and diverse student body. Topics of discussion reportedly included LGBT rights, abortion, climate change, and gun control, among others.
FIU is currently the county’s largest Hispanic Serving Institution, according to a United Nations press release from February.
“It is young leaders throughout America who know what the solutions look like and are organizing in their communities to make them a reality,” Harris said in a White House press release upon the announcement of the campus tour. “My message to students is clear: We are counting on you, we need you, you are everything.”
The tour, announced on Sept. 7, has specifically targeted HBCUs and Hispanic Serving Institutions.
“It’s obviously strategic,” Noemy Esther, a graduate student at FIU, told Campus Reform. “It’s not just about empowering voters of color, but I think she’s also trying to get the message for young people to vote.”
“I think it’s really timely considering how a lot of black and brown communities in Miami especially are affected by things like climate change,” Esther added.
She said she also thinks Harris added FIU to her college tour schedule because “we know that diversity is our strength, and we know that’s what makes FIU great.”
[RELATED: FIU student body prez says defending DEI is top priority]
Harris has also spoken at Northern Arizona University, Morehouse College, and the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Campus Reform has contacted FIU and the White House for comment. This article will be updated accordingly,
