United States Vice President Kamala Harris delivered a virtual address to close out the third annual Voters of Tomorrow Summit at the Loudermilk Conference Center Saturday afternoon. Democratic voters and leaders of all demographics filled the ballroom awaiting words of wisdom from Harris pertaining to how their voices will matter in the coming election. Eve Levenson, the national engagement director for the Harris for President campaign, arranged for the message to take place, and she promptly introduced the Vice President before displaying the video on the big screens.
“VP Harris will continue to echo the message that young people are the moment. We have the mic right now to speak up about what’s important, the mic to get our folks out there to vote, and the mic to lead this country to what we know that it can be,” Democratic National Committee Youth Coalition Director Tyrik McMillain said.
With almost a year of organization, the central focus of this year’s summit was the “Year of Youth,” emphasizing the substantial impact that Gen Z voters will have in the upcoming 2024 elections. A variety of speakers discussed a diverse range of issues including abortion rights, Gen Z candidacy, voting suppression and campaign strategy. The summit aimed to provide numerous young participants with the necessary tools, connections and motivation to bring about long-lasting transformation as the next generation of powerful leaders.
“This summit gave us time as Gen-Z to strategize, talk about the issues that are important to us and give us an opportunity to connect at a peer to peer level, and have these conversations,” GA NAACP Youth & College president Jayden Williams said.
Throughout the short video, Harris stressed the weight that the Gen-Z vote will wield in the election, given that they represent the future. Harris informed them that their vote would not be taken for granted, and that she would make every effort to earn their vote. Her very presence kept the audience engaged and resonated with several.
“It is time for a new generation and the torch to be passed. I think she will be great at the job, she has the opportunity, she has the network, she has the funds and she has the capacity to serve as our president,” Williams said.