By James Hampton III,
Guest Writer,
On January 14th, 2026, the newly renovated Thalia Mara Hall in downtown Jackson, MS hosted its first event post re-opening, “A Conversation with Kamala Harris”. The 49th vice president who was also the first African American and first woman in United States history to hold that position, visited The City with Soul as part of a national book tour promoting her current best-selling memoir, 107 Days. The title of the book is a reference to her historically short-yet-dynamic presidential campaign as the Democratic Candidate after Biden’s withdrawal in 2024. People arrived to the 7:00 PM event two hours early. Those who had purchased special Meet and Greet tickets were allowed into the auditorium and backstage where they got their books signed and took photographs with the former vice-president while the rest of the audience waited in the lobby some chatting excitedly, some enjoying refreshments, and others just taking in the ambiance of the upgraded yet still classy venue.
The auditorium doors opened to all ticket holders around 6:50 PM and with a few mix-ups here and there people were able to find their assigned seats. The house lights dimmed and the event moderator, Jackson’s own, Rita Brent, came from behind the curtain to enthusiastic applause. Moments later after a pithy introduction Kamala Harris strode onto the stage. The audience rose to give a standing ovation while the chorus of “On My Mama” by Victoria Monét played over the speakers. But just as things began to settle down Brent introduced another special guest, City of Jackson Mayor John Horhn who came out and presented Kamala Harris with the key to the city. The woman of the hour graciously thanked the Mayor and the people of Jackson while expressing why it was so important for her to come to Jackson. She said, “America’s history was made in Jackson,” listing such examples as “the Freedom Riders” (whose willingness to fill the jails in Jackson, MS, and even the State Penitentiary in Parchman, MS in 1961 provided the catalyst for the outlawing of racial discrimination in interstate bus transit), “Medgar Evers” (famous Civil Rights leader, legend, and martyr) and the “students of Tougaloo College” (referring perhaps to “The Tougaloo 9” and/or other history-making alums from that well-known Institution of Higher Learning). After expressing how honored she was by the gesture from the City of Jackson, Harris and Brent sat down again to begin the conversation that over 2000 people had filled the Thalia Mara Hall to hear.
The people were not disappointed. En masse audible vocalizations like “hmm” and “mm-hmm” demonstrated audience engagement during the discussion. A great number of audience members could be seen leaning forward attentively, many nodding in agreement at various points of the interview. Often Harris’ comments brought on spontaneous applause. Brent, a nationally known comedian, slid in humorous comments here and there that helped keep things light. And even Harris got multiple laughs, once by mentioning pot-holes when talking about the importance of voting in local elections as well as national ones.
The roughly one-and-a-half-hour discussion was wide-ranging. The former vice-president talked about her experiences in Jackson earlier that day. She spoke about visiting local community organization, “Springboard to Opportunities”. She spoke about meeting with a local woman, a young mother of three who she had accompanied on a grocery-shopping trip to Save-A-Lot to learn about the woman’s struggles to feed her children and herself on a meager income. The woman felt neglected by people interested in how the U.S. economy is doing who had no interest in how people like herself were doing. Which led the politician/author into a discussion of what she perceives as an explicit anti-empathy stance held by the current president and those occupying high roles of leadership around him. “They will say that they believe that empathy is a sign of weakness,” she told the crowd. She contrasted that idea with her own belief that, “Empathy is the strength of a leader.”
She also talked about voters feeling empowered while never abandoning morals and principles and everything that faith teaches about what is right and good. She also spoke about racially-targeted misinformation and disinformation. She answered a question about the political impact “greek organizations” with reference to “the Divine Nine”. She spoke about grieving the loss of her mother to cancer. Her mother, an activist, a scientist, and advocate, was a huge influence on the former U.S. Senator’s life. She spoke about grieving her mother’s loss being “the other side of the coin” of being blessed with her in the first place. And she compared that grief to the grief she felt for the nation upon hearing the results of the 2024 U.S. Presidential election.
During the audience questions portion of the conservation, 6th Grade Class President, Penelope, asked about being a good leader, and received encouragement and positive advice about listening to the people you represent and prioritizing the problems to solve based on what you hear from them. Including that one, Harris, aka Madam Vice-President, answered multiple questions from the audience. In answer to another “leadership” question from the audience, this time from Nehemiah Hicks, she encouraged him to be empowered if ever he finds himself bringing diversity to any environment that would be all the poorer for his absence.
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