At Howard University, Kamala Harris admits defeat to a crowd of students worried about the future

Special envoy to Washington

A strange calm, given the extreme polarization which marked the end of the campaign, floats over the crowd returning to Howard University in Washington to hear Kamala Harris recognize her defeat. The previous evening, shortly before one o'clock in the morning, thousands of students, activists and Democratic sympathizers had left the campus with hearts aching with anxiety. A party official had just announced to them that the candidate would not speak until she had a clearer picture of the situation in all the pivotal states. Wednesday afternoon, some of them returned to show their support for the defeated candidate. Dressed in a black suit, she called on her supporters to “accept the result of these elections”. “A little earlier todayshe clarified, I spoke with the president-elect and congratulated him on his victory. I also told him that we will help him and his team during the transition…