DETROIT – Thousands attended an annual fundraising dinner Sunday for the Detroit branch of the NAACP.
ORIGINAL STORY: California Sen. Kamala Harris to keynote NAACP dinner in Detroit
Democratic presidential hopeful and California Sen. Kamala Harris spoke at the 64th Annual Fight for Freedom Fund Dinner at Cobo Center.
"We must push for change," Harris said. "Not only from the outside, but also from the inside, at the table where decisions are being made."
The senator gave a fiery campaign speech that began by honoring civil rights legend Judge Damon J. Keith
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"His rulings advanced the cause of equality," Harris said. "His legacy will have a lasting impact on Americans for generations."
Harris is not the only presidential candidate to speak at NAACP events. Sens. Cory Booker and Elizabeth Warren and former Vice President Joe Biden have all come to Detroit to speak. With all eyes on Michigan for the 2020 election, people are wondering if the NAACP was endorsing Harris.
"We don't do that," said the Rev. Wendell Anthony, NAACP Detroit president. "It doesn't hurt to come to Detroit on the way to the campaign trail. Things happen to people who come through here."
The NAACP said it's going after voter suppression and intimidation, practices which largely affect minority groups.
"We are concerned about what's happening in our country," Anthony said. "The stakes are too great for anybody to sit this out."