Vice President Kamala Harris is set to deliver the keynote address at the National Action Network’s annual convention on Friday in Midtown.
In a statement, the Rev. Al Sharpton, the civil rights organization's president, said the vice president’s scheduled remarks represent “a significant moment in a significant year, as we work together not only to advance civil rights but preserve those that we fought to get in the first place.”
Ten members of the Biden-Harris administration are set to speak over the course of the four-day convention, including U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and Alejandro N. Mayorkas, who heads the Department of Homeland Security.
One convention speaker has already generated headlines.
Speaking at the convention on Wednesday, Susan Rice, the director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, said, “In the last 20 years, the U.S. had a shortfall of $16 trillion due to discrimination against Black Americans,” in a statement that generated pushback from conservatives in social media.
Harris and Sharpton have appeared together before.
Last year, the pair attended a funeral for one of the victims of the mass shooting in Buffalo, where Sharpton urged Harris to speak.
And in February, Sharpton delivered the eulogy at the funeral of Tyre Nichols, who died soon after a violent beating at the hands of Memphis police officers. Harris also spoke.
“This violent act was not in the pursuit of public safety. It was not in the interest of keeping the public safe,” Harris said. “Tyre Nichols should’ve been safe.”
The convention is being held at the Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel. Harris is scheduled to speak at noon.
