

INDIANAPOLIS -- Vice President Kamala Harris is ramping up her campaign stops, with plans to give remarks to the one of the country's largest historically Black sororities in Indianapolis on Wednesday -- an event that could shore up her support among Black voters.
Harris will deliver a keynote speech at Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.'s Grand Boulé on Wednesday.
Zeta Phi Beta, like Harris's own sorority of Alpha Kappa Alpha, is a part of the "Divine Nine" -- a collection of nine historically Black fraternities and sororities. Both the Zetas and the AKAs were founded at the vice president's alma mater of Howard University, a historically Black university.

The significance of this moment for these women is profound. A last-minute organizing fundraising Zoom call Sunday night saw some 44,000 Black women donating nearly $1.6 million, which contributed to a record-breaking $126 million raised since President Joe Biden's endorsement of Harris for the job, according to a memo the campaign sent outlining its path forward.
"Vice President Harris has well-documented support from the Biden-Harris coalition of voters that delivered victory in 2020," said campaign chair Jennifer O'Malley Dillon. "She has significant advantages with key parts of the Democratic base: Black voters, Latino voters, AANHPI voters, women, and young voters."
Black voters are a key group of voters that both Harris and former President Donald Trump will work to connect with as the November election approaches.

Trump -- as well as then-candidate Biden -- have worked to court Black and Hispanic voters on the issues of the economy, education, immigration and more.
Trump has recently attended events at Black Conservative Federation Gala in South Carolina, 180 Church in Michigan and New York City's South Bronx to court Black voters and announce his "Black Americans for Trump" coalition.

Trump has centered his appeal to Black voters by equating his criminal prosecutions to the historic discrimination Black Americans have faced.
The Harris campaign's push comes at a time when it's trying to shore up continued interest from a constituency that has historically voted for Democrats.
The event, which the White House announced in early July -- before Biden's decisions to leave the 2024 race, couldn't come at a more controversial time. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is visiting Washington this week and will be addressing Congress on Wednesday -- yet Harris won't be there. It marks the first time Harris will miss a world leader visit since she has become vice president.
Harris, who in her secondary role to the president, has created some distance from Biden on the war in Gaza. Some pro-Palestinian groups tell ABC News that if she is able to strike the right tone in the coming weeks, she could win back the support Biden had lost.
The vice president is scheduled to meet with Netanyahu -- alongside Biden -- on Thursday.