Church always a source of strength and place for reflection for me: Kamala Harris

PTI, Oct 26, 2020, 9:04 AM IST

Washington: Democratic Party’s vice-presidential candidate Senator Kamala Harris on Sunday said the church has always been a source of strength and a place for reflection for her.

“For me, the church has always been a source of strength and a place for reflection. And in my private conversations with God, I usually ask for strength and protection and guidance to do the right thing,” Harris said at a drive-in church service in Southfield, Michigan, which is right outside of Detroit,

“I know this isn”t how we usually do church but it is a reminder, pastor, that faith always finds its way,” she said referring to the unusual situation of the coronavirus pandemic.

Harris, 56, said faith must be a verb.

“We must live it in our actions. That”s the kind of faith I was taught early on, pastor,” she said.

The vice presidential candidate has been spending quite a substantial amount of time in this battleground state, which like 2016, is headed for a tight race.

“I’m travelling around the country but I keep coming back to Detroit,” Harris said, noting the importance of the state’s most populated city in swinging statewide election results.

“You know, in 2016, right, we remember what happened? When we got hit by this natural disaster who’s now in the White House, right? In 2016, they won by just on an average two votes per precinct. Think about that — the power of the vote. So let’s make sure that doesn’t happen again, shall we? And that means: let’s make sure everybody votes,” Harris said.

“In 2016, it (margin of victory) was on average two votes per precinct. We know we can do better, and we know there is so much at stake, and we know the ancestors are relying on us to not let them down when there is so much at stake. So Detroit, I thank you, I thank you. Let’s bring this home! Let’s bring this home! Show the country and show the world that Detroit made the difference in this election,” she said.

At a separate campaign stop, she said there are lessons learned from the previous election.

“You guys are seriously going to make this happen. We all have PTSD from 2016, yes, but there are lessons from 2016, and one of them is that in 2016, in Michigan, we missed that election by, on average, two votes per precinct. Think about that,” she said.

“Like, this is doable! We can do this! We will do this! We’re gonna do this! We’re gonna elect Joe Biden the next president of the United States!” she added.

In her remarks, Harris reiterated that everything is at stake this election.

“Everything is at stake. Let’s look at the fact that we’re in the middle of a pandemic right now. One in 1,000 Black people in America has died from COVID. One in 500, it is estimated by the end of the year if they don’t get control of this, will die because of COVID. Black people are three times more likely to contract the disease, twice as likely to die from it, and it is not surprising that it has everything to do with longstanding racial disparities in all of these systems,” she said.

Harris alleged that all over this country, powerful people are trying to make it difficult for folks to vote.

“And you gotta ask, why are so many powerful people trying to suppress our vote, trying to confuse us about voting? Messing with the post office. Can you believe, messing with the Post Office?! Why are they doing all this? Because they know our power,” she said.

“They know our power. They know when we vote, things change. They know when we vote, we win. So let’s not let anybody take our power from us, ever,” she said.