Howard University, a historically Black college in Washington, D.C., is referred to as the "Mecca." Since 1867, it has been a gathering place for Black people in the U.S. and from all over the world. Among its alumni are former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall and Vice President Kamala Harris. It was the location where Harris chose to give her concession speech on Wednesday.
I was there covering the event, but it wasn’t my first time visiting Howard’s campus. While attending college at Syracuse University in New York, my friends and I took road trips each year to Howard’s homecoming, which just celebrated its 100th anniversary in October. But the jubilant atmosphere that usually surrounds events on The Yard, the main quad on campus, was replaced by a somberness on Wednesday as crowds gathered to hear Harris's concession speech.
