On August 22, 2024, the final night of the Democratic National Convention, Kamala Harris accepted the Democratic nomination for President of the United States, cementing her status as the first Black woman and first South Asian to be the presidential nominee of a major political party. This caps off four days of the 2024 Democratic National Convention. Here are the highlights from last night:
A Diverse Family
Kamala Harris’s diverse and blended extended family showed up in full force at the Democratic National Convention. Americans had been introduced to several members of the family throughout the convention. Harris’s husband Doug Emhoff had delivered a speech the other night. Harris’ stepdaughter Ella Emhoff, niece Meena Harris, and goddaughter Helena Hudlin took the stage at one point and praised the vice president. There was a segment by Harris’s grandnieces teaching the audience to save her name: “Comma-la” like “la-la-la”, referencing Donald Trump’s refusal to pronounce her name correctly.
Kamala’s sister Maya delivered remarks before her sister took the stage. “I so wish that Mommy could be here tonight,” she said. “I could just see her smiling, saying how proud she is of Kamala. And then, without missing a beat, she’d say, ‘That’s enough, you’ve got work to do.’”
A Highlight on Criminal Justice and Gun Violence
In an attempt to counter Republicans who critique the vice president as being soft on crime and progressives who view the vice president’s prosecutorial career as problematic, supporters from both sides of the criminal justice system showed up in support of Harris.
The Central Park Five appeared on stage and ripped Trump, saying that while Harris “worked to make things fairer” Trump “wanted us unalive.” In 1989, Trump had printed full-page ads in the New York newspapers calling for the execution of the five boys, then aged 14 to 16, who had been convicted of raping and assaulting a young woman jogging in Central Park. The convictions were later overturned after DNA evidence surfaced to the contrary, and Trump never apologized to the group.
Sheriff Chris Swanson of Genesee County, Michigan used his remarks to praise Harris. He had previously gone viral for joining a group of demonstrators in a march in the wake of the killing of George Floyd in 2020. He criticized Trump’s public safety agenda, saying that crime is down and police funding is up.
In a similar way to abortion storytellers earlier in the week, survivors of gun violence delivered remarks in poignant moments at the convention. Congresswoman Lucy McBath of Georgia detailed her son’s murder in 2012 and how it inspired her to run for office. Two mothers who lost their children in the Sandy Hook and Uvalde Elementary School shootings also spoke. Former congresswoman Gabby Giffords of Arizona, who survived being shot in the head at a campaign event in 2011, also delivered remarks. The DNC afterward showed a video contrasting Harris’s record of trying to solve gun violence with Trump’s record of allegedly doing nothing to solve gun violence.
No Palestinian Speaker
Progressives and members of the “Uncommitted” movement had called for a speaking slot by a Palestinian to speak to the other perspective on the war in Gaza. The answer from the Harris campaign was “No”. While the group began a 24-hour sit-in within the convention center, the DNC remained steadfast in their refusal even as the UAW and other influential groups clamored for it.
An “Uncommitted” delegate warned that the move would make it harder to win back voters in states like Michigan, which has a large Palestinian voting base.
No-Show by Beyonce
Earlier yesterday, a rumor emerged that a surprise guest was appearing at the DNC. Later on, TMZ reported that the singer Beyonce would be the surprise guest. Beyonce, of course, is the artist behind the song “Freedom”, Kamala Harris’s main campaign song.
She did not show up. A spokesperson for her said she had no plans to do so anyway.
Regardless, there was still a heavy amount of celebrity presence on the final night of the DNC, adding to the several stars who had made appearances throughout the three previous nights of the DNC. Pink performed “What About Us?” on the final night. The country stars the Chicks performed the national anthem. It has been clear that there has been a boost of energy in the celebrity world in contrast to the Biden campaign, which reportedly struggled to gain celebrity appearances at campaign events.
Kamala Harris: “America cannot truly be prosperous unless Americans are fully able to make their own decisions about their own lives, especially about matters of heart and home.”
Source: AFP/Getty Images
The culminating moment of the DNC emerged when Kamala Harris delivered her acceptance speech for the Democratic presidential nomination. While it accomplished her campaign’s goals, the speech was not as powerful compared to the likes of the Obamas or even Hillary Clinton. In other words, it was good enough.
Harris spoke of her mother’s immigration from India, and how her parents met and eventually divorced. This marked one of very few mentions of her father Donald J. Harris, a Jamaican economist who is still alive and is reportedly estranged from his daughter. She spoke of her childhood in a working-class neighborhood of Oakland, California, and emphasized her middle-class roots. “The middle class is where I come from,” she declared.
Harris spoke of why she became a lawyer and repeated a line that she had used in her early career as a prosecutor: “My entire career, I have only had one client – the people.”
The vice president spoke of her vision for the future. It included the usual vague calls for unity and taking “a new path forward” that many presidential candidates had used in the past. Harris detailed her policies – lowering costs of healthcare, housing, and food. She spoke of the need to preserve abortion rights and compared it to preserving freedom. Harris made very little difference between her and her would-be predecessor Joe Biden, with both having taken center-left positions on the campaign and having generally the same policies.
Take foreign policy. Like the President, Harris spoke of Israel’s right to defend itself and emphasized her involvement in the talks for a ceasefire and hostage deal in regard to the war. This would hardly satisfy those who have been turned off by Joe Biden’s Gaza policies. Harris spoke of continuing to support US membership in NATO and continued support to Ukraine.
Finally, Harris attacked her Republican opponent, casting him as an “unserious man” who poses a serious threat to democracy. “The consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious,” she declared at one point. Harris brought up the January 6th attack and Trump’s criminal convictions. Like many speakers before her, Harris once again attacked Project 2025 and said it would “pull our country back into the past”.
“Our opponents are out there every day denigrating America, talking about how terrible everything is,” Harris declared while wrapping up her speech. “Well my mother had another lesson — never let anyone tell you who you are, show them who you are…let us write the next great chapter!”
Emil Ordonez, a rising college freshman, is the founder and editor-in-chief of Polinsights. He has been deeply passionate about politics and history since learning every U.S. President at the age of five. He was compelled to start this blog after meeting many people who were misinformed or had become apathetic about how society worked. He hopes to provide factual knowledge and insights that will encourage people, especially the young, to get more engaged in their respective communities. In his free time, he edits for Wikipedia and makes maps for elections. He aspires to work in Congress or even the White House in the future.
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