VP Harris to headline Juneteenth party during Tuesday Atlanta visit

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the 100 Black Men of America conference  in Atlanta on Friday, June 14, 2024.   (Ben Gray / Ben@BenGray.com)

Credit: Ben Gray

Credit: Ben Gray

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the 100 Black Men of America conference in Atlanta on Friday, June 14, 2024.   (Ben Gray / [email protected])

Vice President Kamala Harris will headline a Juneteenth Block Party for her reelection bid during a stop in Atlanta on Tuesday, her second visit to Georgia’s capital in less than a week.

The vice president will attend the party shortly after she holds a conversation with Quavo at the hip-hop star’s summit to stop gun violence. The Juneteenth event will also launch the opening of a new campaign office in Atlanta, officials said.

Harris has had a steady presence in Georgia as she and President Joe Biden fight to keep the state in the Democratic column after their narrow victory over Donald Trump in 2020. The Republican’s campaign also views Georgia as a November imperative.

Over her first four stops in Georgia this year, Harris has mostly focused on appealing to Black voters, the foundation of the Democratic base.

She’s emphasized Biden’s stance on expanding voting rights, preserving access to abortion and efforts to narrow economic inequality. And at a speech to the 100 Black Men of America on Friday, she urged leaders to “help me get out the word” about her agenda.

The Tuesday event will feature local Black-owned food vendors, performers and elected officials commemorating Juneteenth, the holiday marking the day in 1865 when the last remaining slaves, living in Texas, learned they were free.

As a U.S. senator, Harris co-sponsored legislation to make June 19 a federal holiday. In 2021, Biden signed a measure that made the day the first new holiday since one honoring Atlanta native Martin Luther King Jr. was established in 1983.