As DNC kicks off, protests and high-profile guests promise much to watch

By Ishena Robinson | URL Media

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 woman and South Asian leader of the United States.

Listen Below 🔉: WURD Radio’s Solomon Jones interviews Jamie Harrison, Democratic National Committee chair