Insights gathered during the concluding event of the Democratic National Convention
In the never-ending battle between freedom and oppression, I make my stance clear. And I know where America ought to stand as well, declared her.
Speaking with the passion of a zealous lawyer, Harris fulfilled the potential many Democrats saw in her when she commenced her first presidential campaign half a decade ago, and when Biden selected her as his running mate in 2020.
She squared off directly against her Republican opponent. She highlighted his legal woes. She accused him of inflicting unimaginable pain upon certain women due to the enactment of strict state-level abortion laws. She brought attention to the turmoil and disaster that occurred during his time in office.
"In many ways, Donald Trump is devoid of seriousness," she stated. "However, the consequences of re-electing Donald Trump to the White House are extremely grave."
She also delved deeper into her own political beliefs, particularly concerning foreign policy. She affirmed that she'd serve as a president who is "prudent, sensible, and common-sense" — a direct rebuttal to Trump's attempts to label her as too radical.
The disparity between Harris' speech in Chicago and the one Trump delivered last month at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee was beyond obvious — and set the stage for the mad dash to the November 5 election, with head-to-head confrontations in debates yet to come.
Here are eight insights drawn from the fourth and final night of the Democratic National Convention:
Harris pledges a return to pre-Trump tranquility
Harris delivered a straightforward message to the American public: You no longer need to endure this way of life.
Subtly woven into her remarks or stated explicitly at times, Harris offered the electorate a fresh start from the Trump era and its endless uncertainty and political instability.
"We will not go back," Harris repeated, as had she and others since her nomination. But while this slogan critiques Trump's policies and promises progressive change, it also holds a more specific promise for the immediate future.
A pledge to "not go back" even a few weeks ago, before her campaign gained momentum.
Harris' campaign has consistently emphasized "freedom," framing issues such as reproductive rights as questions of government intrusion.
At stake in the election, Harris claimed, were "the freedom to live without fear of gun violence, in our schools, neighborhoods, and places of worship; the freedom to love who you love openly and with pride; the freedom to breathe clean air, drink clean water, and live free from the pollution that fuels the climate crisis; and the freedom that unlocks all others: The freedom to vote."
On this night, it was challenging not to also perceive the promise of "freedom" from the anger and divisions that have characterized much of the past decade of American life.
Harris becomes personal
Harris has long been reluctant to share her personal story. But that’s all in the past now.
Over the course of her campaign, she has discussed her mother, her upbringing as a middle-class daughter of two immigrants and academics, and her ascension into political office.
On Thursday, Harris spoke about how her father, economist Donald Harris, encouraged her to play freely on the playground when her mother cautioned her to be careful. She shared memories of her late mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, a biomedical scientist who dedicated her life to curing breast cancer and raised her two daughters after her divorce. And she reminisced about the tight-knit community that played a crucial role in her upbringing and her sister Maya's.
“My mother was a brilliant, five-foot-tall, brown woman with an accent, and as the eldest child, I witnessed how the world often treated her,” Harris said. “But my mother never lost her cool.”
Without directly contrasting her upbringing with Trump's, other speakers this week have drawn a more explicit comparison between her childhood and the former President's life as the son of a real estate magnate.
Harris recounted a childhood experience that shaped her career path. In high school, her friend Wanda Kagan confided in her that she was being sexually abused by her stepfather, Harris pledged to support her and her family.
“This is one of the reasons I became a prosecutor, to protect people like Wanda,” she said.
Supporters vouch for Harris’ credentials
Throughout her 2020 presidential campaign, Harris sought to distance herself from the label that she was a “cop” and out of step with the left on criminal justice reform issues. But as she worked to introduce herself to the public as a presidential candidate, she emphasized her work fighting transnational gangs, sexual predators, and corporate miscreants as a strength.
Several of her former colleagues, from her time in the Alameda County district attorney’s office to her years as California Attorney General, appeared Thursday night to defend her approach to her job as one that balanced compassion and determination.
“For Kamala, practicing law was always about protecting the marginalized and giving victims a voice,” said Amy Resner, a former deputy district attorney for Alameda County and a longtime friend.
Lisa Madigan, the former Attorney General of Illinois, spoke about working with Harris during the financial crisis to prevent home foreclosures. Nathan Hornes, a former student at Corinthian Colleges, a now-defunct for-profit school, addressed her successful efforts to prosecute the school for defrauding students.
One of the most striking testimonials came from Courtney Baldwin, a youth organizer and human trafficking survivor, who spoke about how Harris worked to shut down the website that was used to force her and others into sex work.
“She has protected people like me her whole life,” Baldwin said.
The Harris Family Gathering
For years, Trump and several Republicans have enjoyed mocking Kamala Harris' unique first name. They've made a spectacle of mispronouncing it.
Thursday night, Kamala's two young grandnieces, Amara and Leela Ajagu, along with actress Kerry Washington, decided to intervene. They took to the stage to demonstrate how simple it is, even for children, to pronounce her name correctly.
"First, you say komma, like a comma in a sentence," Amara explained.
"Then you say la, like la, la, la, la, la," Leela added, imitating a lullaby.
Several family members followed, reiterating the correct pronunciation of Kamala's name.
Amara and Leela's mother, Meena Harris, shared her personal experience with Kamala, speaking about the guidance she received from the Vice President. Harris' stepdaughter, Ella Emhoff, shared her first encounter with Kamala when she was 14, describing her as patient, caring, and always taking her seriously.
"She taught me that making a difference means giving your whole heart and taking action," Harris' goddaughter, Helena Hudlin, added.
Later, Maya Harris, the Vice President's sister, spoke about their late mother.
"I so wish that Mommy could be here tonight," she said, her voice filled with emotion. "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.’"
Moving stories from gun violence survivors
Even before Biden ended his reelection campaign, Kamala Harris emerged as a leading voice on gun control. Thursday night emphasized her commitment to this issue, as personal stories of people affected by gun violence were shared, from mass shootings to intimate partner violence.
The approach mirrored the use of abortion storytellers throughout the convention, with speakers sharing their heartbreaking experiences. Against a black backdrop, they shared their tales of loss.
Georgia Representative Lucy McBath shared her story, recounting how she became a mother before her son was murdered in 2012. McBath, who went on to run for office, spoke about the power of sharing her story when she worked for gun control organizations like Moms Demand Action.
"You've just heard mine, but there are many more to tell," she said, turning to other mothers who had lost their children in mass shootings at Sandy Hook and Uvalde schools, as well as to Melody McFadden, who had lost her mother to domestic violence, and Edgar Vilchez, who had lost a classmate.
The night concluded with former Arizona Representative Gabby Giffords, who survived a shooting at a campaign event in 2011.
"I almost died, but I fought for my life, and I survived," she said.
Central Park Five member: Trump 'wanted us dead'
Donald Trump has a history of exploiting racial resentments for political gain. He popularized 'birtherism' during Barack Obama's presidency and enacted a travel ban for six majority Muslim countries.
But Trump's first instance of using this strategy was in response to the Central Park Five.
In 1989, five Black and Latino teenagers were wrongfully convicted of raping and assaulting a woman in Central Park, New York. Trump, a real estate developer at the time, took out full-page newspaper ads calling for the execution of the boys and asserting, "Bring back the death penalty. Bring back our police!"
The boys were exonerated – four in 2002 and the last in 2022 – after another man confessed to the crime and DNA evidence confirmed his involvement.
Four of the five appeared on stage at the DNC on Thursday night, sharing their experiences.
"Every day, as we walked into court, people screamed at us, threatened us, because of Donald Trump," Korey Wise said.
Yusef Salaam, now a New York City councilman, added, "He wanted us dead."
"He has never changed, and he never will," Salaam continued. "That man thinks that hate is the animating force in America. It is not. We have the constitutional right to vote. In fact, it is a human right. So let us use it."
Gaza war opponents denied speaking spot by DNC
The Uncommitted delegates, who had won primary protest votes against the Biden administration's Israel and Gaza policy, were excluded from the convention. These delegates, all committed to voting for Harris, attempted to secure a speaking spot for a Palestinian American. However, their request was denied.
Convention organizers informed the Uncommitted National Movement that they would not be granted a speaking spot. The group, in response, began a 24-hour sit-in outside the convention, which attracted political allies and antiwar activists. Despite support from influential groups such as the United Auto Workers, the DNC stuck to its decision.
Abbas Alawieh, an Uncommitted co-founder, expressed disappointment, stating that this decision would make it more difficult to win back voters in swing states like Michigan.
"I feel bad for (the DNC and Harris campaign) because they're out of step with the majority of the Democratic base," Alawieh said. "The majority of Democratic voters believe that Palestinian human rights are a priority alongside every other priority we have."
Harris herself addressed the issue, committing to supporting and defending Israel, condemning Hamas' October 7 attacks, and expressing the administration's determination to secure a lasting peace in the region.
She went on, "Simultaneously," she added, "the situation in Gaza over the past 10 months has been catastrophic. So many blameless lives have been lost. People, desperate and starving, have had to flee for safety repeatedly. The magnitude of the suffering is truly heartbreaking."
Celebrities Bring the Heat
Measuring impact in politics often involves evaluating crowd sizes, donations, and voter registrations, but this convention introduced a different metric: celebrities in attendance.
The DNC has been a star-studded event this week, with unexpected appearances like Lil Jon at the star-studded roll call and Oprah Winfrey's speech on Wednesday night. Celebrities including Mindy Kaling and Tony Goldwyn hosted various nights of the convention, while progressive country artists such as Mickey Guyton, Maren Morris, and Jason Isbell provided the music throughout the week.
Stevie Wonder performed "Higher Ground" and John Legend honored Prince – hailing from Gov. Tim Walz's home state of Minnesota – with Sheila E. as his musical partner. Pink performed "What About Us" on the convention's final night, which was hosted by "Scandal" star Kerry Washington.
The organizers may not have disclosed who requested an invitation after Harris became the nominee, but it's undeniable that her ascension coincided with a surge of energy that was evident in the programming.
Lastly, the question remains: would Beyoncé perform? Her song "Freedom" has become the theme song for Harris' campaign and the soundtrack for several campaign videos. The speculation grew throughout the week that Beyoncé would make an appearance, but her representatives finally put an end to the rumors on Thursday.
"She was never scheduled to be in Chicago," the artist's representative clarified to CNN.
- Discussing her political platform, Kamala Harris pledged to protect the freedom of Americans from gun violence, reproductive rights violations, and environmental pollution.
- In her campaign, Kamala Harris emphasized her stance on politics, particularly her commitment to restoring pre-Trump tranquility, fighting for progressive change, and serving as a president who prioritizes common sense over radical policies.
