>>
>> COMING
>> COMING UP TONIGHT AT 11:00, WE'LL HAVE THE FULL STORY ON
HOW VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS'S
SORORITY SISTERS CELEBRATED
THIS HISTORIC DAY.
>>> DR. WAYNE FREDERICK,
PRESIDENT FOR HOWARD
UNIVERSITY, JOINS ME NOW TO
TALK ABOUT THIS HISTORIC DAY.
DR. FREDERICK, THANK YOU FOR
TAKING THE TIME.
HAVE YOU HAD A MOMENT OF WHAT
HAPPENED TODAY?
HAPPENED TODAY? >> NOT QUITE.
YOU KNOW, IT IS OBVIOUSLY A
WONDERFUL, HISTORIC DAY AND
ACTUALLY BEING DOWN THERE TO
WITNESS THE CEREMONY MADE IT
THAT MUCH MORE SPECIAL, AND SO
I AM SURE IT IS GOING TO TAKE A
WHILE FOR ME TO REALLY UNPACK
IT ALL.
IT ALL.
IT ALL. >> TELL US WHAT THAT FELT LIKE
BECAUSE SO MANY OF US COULD NOT
BE THERE BECAUSE OF SECURITY
CONCERNS AND OBVIOUSLY BECAUSE
OF CORONAVIRUS.
OF CORONAVIRUS. THE SCORES OF AMERICANS THAT
WOULD BE THERE TO WITNESS THIS
HAD TO DO ITS FROM HOME.
WHAT DID IT FEEL LIKE TO BE
THERE?
THERE?
THERE? >>
THERE? >> YOU KNOW, IT WAS EXTREMELY
SPECIAL.
SPECIAL.
SPECIAL. I RODE DOWN IN THE SHUTTLE
THERE WITH JACOB BLAKE, THE
FATHER AND WITH BREONNA
TAYLOR'S FAMILY MEMBERS, AND IN
ITSELF, THAT KIND OF UNDER
SCORED THE ENTIRE MOMENT, TO BE
QUITE HONEST.
QUITE HONEST. AND BEING THERE WITH OUR SAME
FELLOW ALUM, OUR FRIENDS, TAKE
THAT OATH, WAS ABSOLUTELY
SPECIAL, AND IT WAS SUCH A -- I
THINK THERE WEREN'T AS MANY
PEOPLE, IT WAS SO MOVING AND SO
TOUCHING, YOU KNOW, AND IT WAS
JUST RIGHT.
JUST RIGHT. I THINK JUST WHAT WE NEEDED TO
TURN THE PAGE AND GET ON TO
ANOTHER CHAPTER.
ANOTHER CHAPTER. >> AND I WAS WATCHING IT AND I
FELT LIKE THERE WAS THIS SORT
OF INTIMACY THROUGHOUT THE DAY
EVEN THOUGH THERE WERE NOT A
LOT OF PEOPLE GATHERED.
HAVE YOU HAD A LOT OF PEOPLE TO
TALK TO NOW VICE PRESIDENT
KAMALA HARRIS EITHER TODAY OR
IN THE DAYS LEADING UP TO
TODAY?
TODAY?
TODAY? >>
TODAY? >> I HAVEN'T SPOKEN RECENTLY.
DEFINITELY NOT TODAY.
AND I AM SURE IT WILL BE A
LITTLE WHILE BEFORE I SPEAK TO
HER.
HER.
HER. BUT
HER. BUT I DID HAVE A CHANCE TO SEE
HER, HER SISTER AND FAIR FAMILY
THIS MORNING, AND I HAD AN
OPPORTUNITY TO EXPRESS MY JOY
AND MY HAPPINESS FOR THEM, AND
ALSO MY GRATITUDE FOR WHAT SHE
HAS ALREADY DONE FOR THE NATION
BY GETTING TO THIS POSITION.
>> SHATTERING GENDER NORMS,
SHATTERING SO MANY THINGS,
MAKING HISTORY.
MAKING HISTORY. WE KNOW WHAT THIS DAY MEANS FOR
THE NATION, BUT WHAT DOES THIS
DAY MEAN FOR HOWARD UNIVERSITY
AND ALL ALUM WHO HAVE, FRANKLY,
BEEN PRODUCING LEADERS LIKE THE
VICE PRESIDENT FOR A LONG TIME
NOW?
NOW?
NOW? >>
>>
>> >>
>> >> YOU
>> >> YOU MAKE AN EXCELLENT POINT.
THIS IS ANOTHER PASSING OF THE
BATON, ANOTHER LEG OF THE
RELAY, AS IT WERE, AND WHAT IT
ALSO SAYS TO THE YOUNG PEOPLE
COMING BEHIND HER WHO ARE
CURRENTLY THINKING ABOUT COMING
TO HOWARD OR CURRENTLY
MATRICULATING IS THAT THEY HAVE
A VERY BRIGHT FUTURE AHEAD OF
THEM.
THEM.
THEM. AND
THEM. AND JUST AS SHE USED IT, ONE
DAY SOMEONE WILL USE HER FAMILY
BIBLE TO TAKE THE OATH, AND I
THINK THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT IS
SIGNIFICANT ABOUT THIS FOR
HOWARD AND OTHER ALUM.
>> SHE CERTAINLY SAID IN HER
SPEECH BACK IN DECEMBER THAT
SHE MAY BE THE FIRST, BUT SHE
WILL CERTAINLY NOT BE THE LAST.
BEFORE I LET YOU GO, PRESIDENT
FREDERICK, YOU WEAR MANY HATS
IN THIS CITY.
YOU ARE BOTH PRESIDENT,
SURGEON.
SURGEON.
SURGEON. YOU ARE VERY MUCH A PART OF THE
MAYOR'S EFFORTS TO REOPEN THIS
CITY.
CITY.
CITY. AND
CITY. AND PART OF THE WAY THAT THE
CITY AND THE COUNTRY ARE GOING
TO BE REOPENING IS HAVING TO
GET UNDER COVID AND GETTING
THIS VACCINE PROGRAM THE WAY IT
OUGHT TO BE ACROSS THE NATION.
YOU ARE INTIMATELY INVOLVED
WITH THIS, AND HOWARD IS
UNIQUELY POSITIONED TO HELP
WITH THIS.
WITH THIS. GIVE US SOME INSIGHT ABOUT WHAT
THIS ADMINISTRATION IS GOING TO
HAVE TO DO AND WHAT INFORMATION
AND WHAT THEY CAN LEARN FROM
WHAT YOU HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DO
SO FAR IN THE CITY.
>> YOU KNOW, THE ADMINISTRATION
HAS A DAUNTING TASK, BUT I
THINK THAT THEY'RE UP FOR IT.
THE TASK FORCE IS PUT TOGETHER,
MADE UP OF HEALTH OFFICIALS, I
THINK IT IS THE RIGHT TASK
FORCE.
FORCE.
FORCE. THEY RECOGNIZE THAT THE STATES
NEED ASSISTANCE TO PUSH THE
VACCINE OUT.
VACCINE OUT. AND I THINK THEY ALSO RECOGNIZE
THAT THE INEQUITIES THAT HAVE
OCCURRED IN TERMS OF THE
OUTCOME NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED.
AND HOWARD UNIVERSITY SCHEDULED
MORE FOR THE COMMUNITY
VACCINATIONS.
VACCINATIONS. WE PLAN ON DOING 300 AS A
PILOT.
PILOT.
PILOT. AND WE ENDED UP DOING 506
VACCINATIONS ON FRIDAY SO WHILE
THERE IS SOME VACCINE
HESITANCY, I THINK WE HAVE TO
FOCUS ON THERE IS SIGNIFICANT
INTEREST IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY
AS WELL.
AS WELL.
AS WELL. BUT WHAT WE HAVE TO DO IS MAKE
SURE WE CREATE THE TYPES OF
LOGISTICS AND THE TYPE OF
SYSTEM AND COORDINATION BETWEEN
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND
STATE GOVERNMENT, AND THE
COMMUNITY TO GET THE VACCINE
OUT AND GET THE VACCINATIONS
DONE.
DONE.
DONE. >>
DONE. >> WELL, WE KNOW HOWARD
UNIVERSITY HAS BEEN IN THE
FOREFRONT OF HELPING TO MOVE
THIS COUNTRY FORWARD THROUGHOUT
OUR MANY, MANY YEARS HERE AND
WE KNOW THAT HANDLING THIS
COVID SITUATION YOU WILL BE
RIGHT AT THE CENTER OF IT AS
WELL.
WELL.
WELL. DR.
WELL. DR. FREDERICK, THANK YOU SO
MUCH FOR YOUR TIME TODAY.
AND LIKE MANY HOWARD UNIVERSITY
GRADUATES, I THINK WE'RE ALL