Chicago Crusader – Kamala Harris’ historic march to the White House took a big step at the Democratic National Convention this week in Chicago, where her nomination for president was celebrated over a four-day event with former presidents, senators, governors, politicians and celebrities who electrified the United Center with rousing speeches that emphasized the strength and achievements of Black women.
With less than three months to go before the presidential election in November, Harris rolled into town riding a wave of campaign support from donors, voters and a young generation that has joined a national movement to make her America’s first Black woman president.
With reproductive rights as the central focus of Harris’ presidential campaign, thousands of women, Black and white, turned out at the United Center to support Harris’ nomination. The convention included women speakers who shared emotional testimonies after they terminated pregnancies under extreme circumstances.
Many events also took place at McCormick Place, where members of the Congressional Black Caucus hosted panel discussions.
At the United Center, Singer Patti Labelle, rapper Common and DJ Cassidy were among celebrities who stirred up the crowd Tuesday before a high-spirited roll-call vote was held with delegates of 50 states and U.S. territories.
That day, Harris and her vice-presidential running mate, candidate Tim Walz, campaigned in Milwaukee and appeared at a huge rally there less than a month after the Republican National Convention was held in the city.
At the DNC’s hub, the United Center, President Barack Obama and his wife, former first Lady Michelle Obama, in back-to back speeches brought the crowd to its feet Tuesday night when praising Marian Robinson, Mrs. Obama’s mother, who died last May.
The Obamas praised Robinson for her guidance and spirit as a hard-working individual, who like many Black women, made important, thankless contributions to society by shaping the character of her children. Barack Obama, along with his wife, blasted Trump and said America is ready for a Black woman to run the country.
“Donald Trump sees power as nothing more than a means to his own ends. We do not need four more years of bluster, bumbling and chaos. We have seen that movie before, and we all know that the sequel is usually worse. America is ready for a new chapter. For a new story. We are ready for a President Kamala Harris.
“And Kamala Harris is ready for the job. This is a person who spent her life fighting on behalf of people who need a voice and a champion.”
Michelle Obama gave a powerful speech that kept most of the 23,000 supporters at the United Center on their feet. She eviscerated Trump and urged Democrats to not complain, but to “do something” and vote.
She said “hope is making a comeback” in a speech that rekindled memories of her husband’s historic 2008 presidential campaign which produced the highest Black voter turnout in American history. Now, she said, the same energy and spirit is behind Harris, who is on the cusp of becoming America’s first Black woman president in the country’s 248 years.
“Kamala Harris is more than ready for this moment,” Michelle Obama said. “She is one of the most qualified people ever to seek the office of the presidency, and she is one of the most dignified.”
Cheers and applause erupted when the former first lady attacked Donald Trump, who has repeatedly and publicly doubted Barack Obama’s U.S. citizenship and questions Harris’ intelligence and ability to handle the post powerful political office in the world.
The convention in Chicago resembled an endless pep rally that left many feeling confident of Harris defeating Trump in November.
“For years, Donald Trump did everything in his power to try to make people fear us,” Michelle Obama said. “See, his limited, narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hard-working, highly educated, successful people who happen to be Black.
“I want to know — I want to know — who’s going to tell him, who’s going to tell him, that the job he is currently seeking might just be one of those Black jobs?” she added, referring to Trump’s recent statements that immigrants are taking “Black jobs.”
Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock, South Carolina Congressman Jim Clyburn and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton all spoke at the convention. Former President Bill Clinton was scheduled to speak Wednesday and Harris herself was scheduled to give her official acceptance speech on Thursday. She made a surprise appearance at the convention Monday night and thanked supporters for boosting her campaign for president.
During his speech Monday night, Clyburn, whose endorsement helped Biden get elected in 2020, said “For President Biden’s lifetime of achievement, his service of his country, we owe him a great debt of gratitude. And we are all grateful for one of the best decisions he made, selecting Kamala Harris as his vice president and endorsing her to succeed him.”
Earlier Tuesday, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker and Senator Tammy Duckworth spoke.
Pritzker said, “Kamala Harris and Tim Walz spent their lives lifting people up, not pushing them down. They know that a White House that leads with kindness looks at someone who is struggling and sees not what they might cost society, but what they might create for it.”
During her speech, Duckworth said she was able to have her two daughters because of in vitro fertilization. Duckworth said after the fall of Roe v. Wade, she is concerned that Republicans will have the courts outlaw in vitro fertilization next.
From the podium, Duckworth told Trump, “Stay out of our doctors’ offices and while you’re at it, out of the Oval Office too.
“Every American deserves to be called a mommy or daddy without being called a criminal. Kamala Harris believes that. Let’s make some history and elect her in November.”
Outside the United Center, excitement for Harris as president was just as strong. Vendors selling t-shirts of Harris and Walz had booths on Madison, Paulina and Ashland Avenues. On Paulina, Lamont Robinson, 57, said he sold $500 worth of $20 t-shirts within an hour on the first day of the convention.
At New Zion Missionary Baptist Church on the North Side, Black Men United held a get-out-the-vote rally that included speeches from Congressman Danny Davis and Alderman Walter Burnett, Jr.
On Sunday in Bronzeville, the Absolutely Anything Essential Gift Shop, a Black-owned DNC vendor, welcomed visitors outside the store with products and services. In Chatham, Brown Sugar Bakery owner Stephanie Hart unveiled a “Kamala cake,” a chocolate and caramel dessert.
An estimated 50,000 visitors and 15,000 journalists were among the energetic crowds and visitors that flooded the city with excitement under the watchful eyes of local, state and federal law enforcement officials who blocked off areas around the United Center and McCormick Place where the Democratic Party held many political events.
But on Tuesday Chicago police clashed with hundreds of protesters during a pro-Palestinian demonstration at the Israeli consulate that’s located less than two miles from the United Center.
And at the Ashland Green Line station el, a Crusader journalist witnessed an altercation on the northbound platform between a CTA worker and a group of young men. A swarm of police officers rushed to the scene as one of the men fell onto the tracks and limped his way back on the platform. Two men were arrested. It was uncertain what caused the fight.
Such incidents did not overshadow activities at the United Center where Harris’ historic campaign unfolded among the massive crowd without untoward events.
The convention added more fuel to Harris’ campaign, which continues to appeal to voters across racial and political lines. Harris’ campaign appeal is similar in many ways to that of Barack Obama’s historic campaign in 2008 when he was elected America’s first Black president. Harris has a 3-point lead nationally, over former President Donald Trump, but the two are in a dead heat across the battleground states, according to a poll released Sunday.
At the convention Monday, Democratic leaders gave a special tribute to Reverend Jesse Jackson, who stepped down from his Rainbow PUSH organization as he battles Parkinson’s disease. Harris also praised Jackson.
Harris’ campaign for president began when President Joe Biden withdrew from the race in late July, after questions of his cognitive abilities and dwindling poll numbers sparked concern of his chances of defeating Trump.
At the United Center on Monday, Biden received a long, standing ovation as supporters shouted “We love you Joe” before he gave a speech and passed the baton to Harris for president.
“I believed then and I believe now that progress was and is possible,” Biden said.
“Justice is achievable. And our best days are not behind us — they’re before us. Now, it’s summer. The winter has passed. And with a grateful heart, I stand before you now on this August night to report that democracy has prevailed. Democracy has delivered. And now, democracy must be preserved.”
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