I attended the Democratic National Convention last week. Like so many in the crowd of 24,000, I was a first timer. Hopefully you’ve read URL Media editorial director Ishena Robinson’s daily roundups of each night. Zooming out, a few more thoughts around this election and how to keep centering voters of color, key to either party’s path to the White House:
The DNC really was a big tent.
The party of AOC and Nancy Pelosi, Bernie Sanders and the Clintons somehow found common ground in Chicago. This “bigger tent” manifested in a few ways: There was what was officially said on stage and into microphones, largely singular messages of supporting Kamala Harris and firing back at Donald Trump in plainspeak (he’s a criminal, he has a rap sheet, JD Vance is just weird). There were the official signs: USA USA USA, American flags, the folksy “Coach Walz,” the simplicity of the Harris-Walz logo.
But there also was the VIBE: Lil Jon firing up Georgia’s votes, women dressed in white, dem(o)brat hats, to celebrities like Oprah, Mindy Kaling, Kerry Washington. For me, the convenings taking place across the city felt even more important — breakfasts for Black sorority sisters to Filipino Americans holding a nightly conference. The convention’s pageantry and history and grandeur felt built upon these many niches — identities reflected in Kamala Harris’ own background, enabling the umbrella to get ever wider.
At URL Media, a network to leverage ground-up reporting into a news agenda collectively greater, truer and more trusted, it was a very redeeming sight.
The Dems still don’t understand the internet.
This fight between mainstream media and content creators is so tiring. What is more concerning is the desire for the Dems to control messaging, including independent journalism and reportage from influencers alike. The hundreds of creators at the convention were prolific but they were also hoodwinked. One told me that they had been summoned to interview a candidate only to be told there would be no questions, and offered an opportunity to take a photo with the politician instead—and not even on their iPhone but through an official campaign photographer. What spin doctors fail to understand is that we (journalists, content creators, influencers) are all serving the public. Influencers enjoy loyalty and large followings based on this trust. It is disingenuous of the Democrats to try to leverage these large audiences but not engage as authentically with them, for them.
That’s why the reported “rift” over the media and influencers isn’t sitting right with me. We actually have the same problem: Gaining access on behalf of our communities. Some meaningful partnerships and legit looking out are indeed happening. Consider that our network, URL Media, shared daily articles and videos with dozens of partners across the country. We also provided content to the Hindustan Times overseas. When we struggled with access and credentials, mainstream media such as CNN and local outlets such as Chicago Public Media rallied to help us gain it. In some cases, local politicians and convention volunteers themselves went to bat for us.
For the public, the lines between journalism, media and information have always been blurry. For us practitioners, it seems time to rally together on behalf of our communities and fight for access and a better informed electorate together versus acting like it’s a zero-sum game or that there’s one correct way of imparting the news.
Asian-Americans hosted many events on the sidelines of the convention — but had few speaking roles on the main stage.
We needed to hear from more Next Gen talent.
Yes to Palestinian voices. But Asian representation also felt muted given that Kamala Harris is half Indian and would be the first Asian American president ever, if elected. Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY) was moved from Night 1 to Night 3. Illinois Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi got Night 4. But their remarks were brief and Asians did not have the breakout moments of, say, AOC or Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas). Meanwhile, in the numerous AAPI events held throughout the week in Chicago, these reps were given hero receptions and centered as stars. (Aside: There are cultural differences among Asian politicians that might need some makeover work to maximize impact on the main stage. In some of the virtual South Asian events for Harris, for example, speakers have droned on and on about how well they know her versus inspiring the crowd. Other events in Chicago similarly felt self-congratulatory and full of thank yous to the VIPs in the room versus ascendant politicians commanding said room.)
S. Mitra Kalita interviews PA State Rep. Arvind Venkat
In an interview with Pennsylvania State Rep. Arvind Venkat, who moved his district in the Pittsburgh suburbs from red to blue, I was struck by three themes:
- Asian immigrants in suburban districts often represent the swing vote;
- Immigration helps sustain the economies of some rural or remote areas otherwise losing population;
- Door-knocking is key to any candidate’s success, even more so for people of color to move from being seen as foreigners to being embraced as neighbors.
A big miss on the mainstage: Justin Jones (D-Tennessee) who was born to an Asian mother in Oakland and a Black father from Chicago (!!). In January, Jones became the first to be penalized under a new rule that allows the Tennessee legislature to vote to silence lawmakers. I happened to see Jones speak in June and his interaction with young and old was inspiring. He’s treated like a rockstar in Tennessee and exudes possibility and intersectionality.
Every state is a swing state.
What Jones also reminds us is of the need for the Party to support people of color in red states and blue states alike. The importance of swing states was a big theme of the convention but rather than seeing local races as “down ballot,” a more ground-up approach is needed to combat the very real forces fraying even dependable blue states like New York or silencing vital voices like Jones’ as irrelevant in a national context. As Roy Cooper and Tim Walz and Andy Beshear themselves show, some of the greatest talents come from these red and purple states.
Every day now till Election Day is Jan. 6.
“Does it all feel a bit frothy and divorced from reality?”
That was the question a pair of political consultants raised on the last night of the DNC. Since then I’ve been asked this a few times. One 2016 attendee says the euphoria over a more inclusive party and the groundbreaking nature of an election feels scarily familiar — and delusional.
I’d agree.
Poll surges aside, one of the realities of Trump voters is how sidelined they are from platforms, mainstream media, and institutions. That doesn’t mean they don’t exist and aren’t organizing. If Jan. 6 surprised you, the protesters there didn’t suddenly have an epiphany in accepting 2020 election results. Their views are redeemed and fueled in parallel universes. Every day, thus, is Jan. 6.
The Democrats need to spend on BIPOC, community, ethnic media
This is self serving, but the record $400 million that the Harris-Walz campaign raised and must spend in the next 70-odd days needs to be strategic. Thus far, the campaign has favored linear television and traditional media because that’s where older voters consume news. But it is not necessarily where first-time voters and millennials Black and Brown voters do. There’s been a reticence, understandably, to spend on platforms like Facebook and X, YouTube and SNAP where vetting is questionable (but still happening as former Facebook exec Katie Harbath asserts).
The other path is brands like ours who sit squarely in the middle of communities and are upfront about the need to serve them. We do not spend hours, days, years debating whether Donald Trump is a racist. As the founder of Pulso, Liz Alarcon, said in a recent elections roundtable: Outlets like hers, which primarily serves a Latino audience, focus on what a Donald Trump presidency would tangibly mean for our people, from policy implications to real fears over deportation and rollbacks in benefits. I was elated to see the Democratic National Convention follow the tactic, with multiple segments breaking down Project 2025, for example.
That is how our outlets, 36 strong, plan to keep covering this high-stakes election. We are trusted messengers who warrant investment in our media—and relationships with the voters who will make all the difference.
