SUMMARY

Vice President Kamala Harris addressed a crowd of supporters outside her alma mater, Howard University, on Wednesday where she delivered a concession speech reflecting on her whirlwind campaign and leaving her voters with a message of hope and faith in democracy.

View the transcript of the story.

News alternative: Check out recent segments from the NewsHour, and choose the story you’re most interested in watching. You can make a Google doc copy of discussion questions that work for any of the stories here.

WARM-UP QUESTIONS

1. Who does Harris address in her speech?
2. What does Harris say is a "fundamental principle of democracy"?
3. How did Harris project hope and resilience in her speech?
4. When did Harris give her concession speech?
5. Why does Harris warn against apathy?

FOCUS QUESTIONS

1. Why do you think Harris focused on a message of hope in her concession speech?
2. Do you agree with the three things that Harris said people owe loyalty to? Explain.

Media literacy: Some right-leaning news outlets and individuals including Donald Trump and Elon Musk spoke of different ways the Democrats would try to steal the 2024 election and prevent Trump from being president. However, Harris spoke about the importance of a peaceful transfer of power in a democracy and she congratulated Trump.

Use Allsides.com's media bias chart to examine how right-leaning outlets covered Harris's concession speech. Take a look at how center and left-leaning outlets covered the speech as well. Did the coverage seem balanced and reliable to you? Explain.

Alternative: See, Think, Wonder: What did you notice? What did the story make you think? What would you want to learn more about?

FOR MORE

What students can do:

One way to fight apathy is to stay involved, including reading news articles and talking with classmates, friends and family about the election. It's also okay to take a break from politics for a little while. Click here for the video lesson on why voters went for Trump in this election.

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