Today marks the start of the 2024 Democratic National Convention, where Vice President and presidential candidate Kamala Harris will officially take the stage in Chicago, IL as the Democratic party’s nominee for office. Harris, who announced Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate a few weeks ago, has shot forward in the polls since President Joe Biden stepped out of the race for the White House that will take place in November.
Chicago could not be a better backdrop for the DNC. Home to one of the largest populations of Palestinians in the United States, protests led by the March on DNC converged in the city’s downtown in the shadow of the Trump Tower on Monday, as demonstrators expressed their upset at Israel’s continuing war on Palestine and the tens of thousands of deaths that have resulted. The marchers are promoting a platform of “money for jobs, schools, healthcare, housing, and the environment, not for war.” VP Harris has spoken in favor of a ceasefire in the conflict, which the U.S. is helping fund.
Chicago was also the site of the recently held National Association of Black Journalists conference, where the Republican party’s candidate for the presidency, Donald Trump, took shots at the racial identity of VP Harris, claiming that she “made a turn and became a Black person.” Harris, who is Indian and Black, will be a rallying force especially for delegates of color, who will descend on the convention center this week to mobilize votes and energy around the candidate who could become the first Black woman and South Asian leader of the United States.
Listen 🔉: WURD Radio’s Solomon Jones interviews Jaime Harrison, Democratic National Committee chair
Harris will deliver remarks and accept her party’s nomination on the final night of the convention, Thursday August 22, 2024. But before then, a long list of Democrat heavy hitters and Hollywood well-knowns will be making their own appearances from the dazzling stage at the DNC. On Monday night, Former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton will speak, as well as Rep. Jim Clyburn, ‘squad’ member Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and President Biden’s daughter Ashley Biden, before the president himself gives the final speech of the night. On Tuesday, former president Barack Obama will deliver remarks, followed by former president Bill Clinton on Wednesday and Vice President candidate Tim Walz on Thursday night.
According to a report from CNN, Kerry Washington, Mindy Kaling, Tony Goldwyn, and Ana Navarro will be celebrity hosts for each night of the broadcast of the convention. Goldwyn famously played the president in ABC’s ‘Scandal’, which he starred in alongside Washington. Kaling has long been a supporter of Harris.
Outside of the big names, all eyes will be on the Harris-Walz campaign to build a compelling vision for voters this election. Harris has announced a few proposals, including an economic agenda that she revealed at an event in Raleigh, North Carolina last week.
As URL Partner Capital B reported, Harris pledged to direct federal resources toward building 3 million new housing units and providing $25,000 to first-time homebuyers for down-payment assistance for the next four years, if she were to be elected. She has also called for the child tax credit to be expanded up to $6000 for families with newborns. It remains to be seen what else will make up the rest of Harris-Walz platform; and while the Biden-Harris foreign policy in regards to Israel and Palestine has stirred plenty of backlash, this week’s convention offers the new duo the opportunity to galvanize support around what they could proactively do for Americans.
URL Media is in Chicago covering the DNC 2024, follow us on our website and on social media @url-media for community centered, on-the-ground reports all week!