Vice President Kamala Harris spoke Wednesday morning in Dallas at the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority’s national convention as accusations of homophobia and hotel evictions surfaced.
Harris pledged to the nation’s first historically black sorority in 1986 when she was a student at Howard University, reported Fox 4 KDFW.
The biennial national convention was held at the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center, with many Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA) sorority guests staying at the Crowne Plaza Downtown Dallas.
Over the weekend, hundreds of gay men who were attending the Daddyland circuit party stayed at the same host hotel as the AKA, reported the Advocate.
The AKA guests reportedly complained about the attire of the gay men, prompting accusations of homophobia.
Due to the AKA sorority complaints, security officers and hotel management evicted the occupants of 88 rooms from the Daddyland circuit party, per the Advocate.
The hotel issued the following notice to those being evicted:
“The OWNER OF THE HOTEL is requesting you LEAVE [IMMEDIATELY]. You will get a refund for Saturday, July 6, 2024, and Sunday, July 7, 2024. Please move out BY 6 PM. ALL PARTIES & EVENTS ARE CANCELLED SATURDAY 7/6, SUNDAY 7/7, & MONDAY 7/8.”
As evicted guests scrambled to find other accommodations, some allege that the eviction was rooted in homophobia.
“I honestly didn’t witness anything egregiously wild and out of the ordinary for a regular circuit party. I think there is a matter of attendees not respecting the public spaces based on stories I’ve heard. But the hotel kicking out all attendees immediately was horrendously inappropriate,” one anonymous attendee told the Advocate.
The hotel owner, Terry Tognazzini, defended his decision.
“We have rules here of clothes, and they’re supposed to wear their clothes, and they didn’t wear their clothes,” Tognazzini told the Advocate.
The Dallas Express reached out to Tognazzini and Vice President Harris but did not receive a response.
Harris’ speech comes during a tumultuous time within the Democratic Party, with some members calling for Biden to cancel his re-election bid.
