Vice President Kamala Harris said on Wednesday that former president Donald Trump’s false assertions about her race were the “same old show” as she emphasised the need for black women to organise for his defeat this November.

Addressing the Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc — one of “Divine Nine” historically black fraternities and sororities — in Houston, Harris told the crowd: “When I look out at everyone here, I see family.”

She drew knowing chuckles from the audience as she mentioned Mr Trump’s comments earlier in the day at the annual meeting of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ).

Mr Trump said Ms Harris, the first black woman and Asian American to serve as vice president, had in the past promoted only her Indian heritage.

“I didn’t know she was black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn black and now she wants to be known as black. So, I don’t know, is she Indian or is she black?” Mr Trump said while addressing the NABJ in Chicago.

Ms Harris responded briefly during her address to the sorority, saying Mr Trump’s display was “the same old show: the divisiveness and the disrespect”.

She added: “And let me just say, the American people deserve better. The American people deserve better.”

“Our differences do not divide us, they are an essential source of our strength,” Ms Harris said.

Referencing the combative tone of Mr Trump’s interview at the NABJ convention, she said: “The American people deserve a leader who tells the truth, a leader who does not respond with hostility and anger when confronted with the facts.”

Ms Harris is the daughter of a Jamaican father and an Indian mother, both immigrants to the US.

As an undergraduate, Ms Harris attended Howard University, one of the nation’s most prominent historically black colleges and universities, where she also pledged the historically black sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha.

As a US senator, Ms Harris was a member of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Speaking to Sigma Gamma Rho members, Ms Harris said the “nation is counting on you” to register people to vote and ensure they go to the polls. “When we organise, mountains move,” she said.