Brooklyn took center stage at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this week, where Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries both expressed confidence that having Kamala Harris at the top of the ballot in November could help Democrats regain the House majority and retain their Senate majority.
Over 4,000 presidential delegates — including more than 70 from Brooklyn — formally nominated Harris for president and Tim Walz for vice president at Chicago’s United Center, even though the running mates had already secured the nomination during a virtual roll call in July.
The DNC also served as a platform for delegates to approve the Democratic Party’s agenda on Monday, which Brooklyn Democratic Party Chair Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn described as “a bold, progressive agenda to uplift all Americans and protect our democracy.”
The 92-page document outlines a progressive agenda for Harris-Walz ticket, focused on economic equality, healthcare, climate action, social justice and reproductive rights.
The platform was crafted by the DNC’s Platform Committee prior to President Joe Biden’s decision last month to drop out of the race for a second term and endorse Vice President Harris to succeed him, and it frequently highlights his achievements and plans for a potential second term. Despite this, the DNC says it offers “a vision for a progressive agenda that we can build on as a nation and as a Party as we head into the next four years.”
Biden’s passing of the torch to Harris was lauded by Jeffries during his main stage speech Wednesday night as “selfless,” saying he will “go down as one of the most consequential presidents of all time.”
“We could not have asked for a better leader to partner with than President Joseph Robinette Biden,” said Jeffries, who stood before the Chicago crowd as a “Brooklynite” expressing his “unequivocal support” for the Harris-Walz ticket that he believed will help Democrats take back the House majority.
“Kamala Harris is a courageous leader, a compassionate leader and a common sense leader who will deliver real results for everyday Americans,” Jeffries said. “Let’s make Kamala Harris the 47th president of the United States of America.”
The House minority leader also used his stage time to take shots at former President Donald Trump, comparing the Republican nominee to an old boyfriend and a “chaos agent who is focused on himself.”
“Donald Trump is like an old boyfriend who you broke up with but he just won’t go away. He has spent the last four years spinning the block, trying to get back into a relationship with the American people,” Jeffries said. “Bro, we broke up with you for a reason.”
Senator Schumer also used his speaking time Tuesday night to back Harris as the candidate that “will move America forward” and accuse Trump of peddling “anti-semitic stereotypes.”
“As the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in American history, I want my grandkids — and all grandkids — to never, never face discrimination because of who they are. But Donald Trump, this is a guy who peddles anti-semitic stereotypes,” Schumer said referencing Trump’s hosting of Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes at his Floridian estate, Mar-a-Lago back in 2022.
Schumer told the crowd that Harris offers a brighter future for America but that she will need a Democratic majority in the Senate to make that a reality – a political outcome that Schumer thinks is not out of reach.
“I am telling all of you now: This year, we are going to hold the Senate again — and are poised to pick up seats,” he said.
‘Creators for Kamala’
New York City Council Member Chi Ossé, who represents parts of Bed-Stuy and Crown Heights, arrived in Chicago on Monday after previously declining an invitation to attend DNC as a delegate for Joe Biden.
His change of heart was largely due to the change of candidate and the progressive issues at stake this election cycle.
“Both the threat of the MAGA Republicans and the potential and promise of the Democratic Party made this election far too important to sit out,” Ossé said. “Donald Trump and his creep sidekick JD Vance want to criminalize abortion, cripple healthcare, ravage the environment, and slash social programs. Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party will fight to restore Roe, protect the climate, and invest in American families and infrastructure.”
I turned down an invitation to be a delegate for Biden. But I’m here now at the DNC as a Creator for Kamala. Both for her policy and the fact that she is movable, we need her to win this existential election. I’ll be keeping you in the loop throughout the Convention. pic.twitter.com/tuVIKsgqH5
— Chi Ossé (@OsseChi) August 21, 2024
Ossé believes that a Harris presidency will continue the impressive path of recovery and economic growth since the COVID-19 pandemic but that it is also a chance to see a shift in the White House’s policy around Israel and Palestine.
“Importantly, the movement for a ceasefire in Gaza and Palestinian liberation has put immense labor into pulling Vice President Harris toward our position,” Ossé continued. “And we have already seen a marked shift in policy and rhetoric. As we continue to build support within the Democratic Party for an agenda that supports safety, dignity, and justice for all Palestinians and Israelis, we know that Harris shows strong potential while Trump promises disaster. For more reasons than we can count, she must win.”
So far this week, Ossé has been creating social media content inside the convention center and around the city, mostly with the Uncommitted National Movement — a group protesting Biden’s support of Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza.
The group held a sit-in outside the convention Wednesday night after being informed they would not get a speaking slot on the main stage.
In one of his videos posted from Chicago, Ossé said the decision not to let a representative from the Uncommitted National Movement speak made the last few days of speeches feel “hypocritical” to him, given other speakers’ emphasis on diversity and equity.
“It’s a no-brainer to represent all voices of our party. Especially those who are going through an increasingly tough time abroad, as well as here at home,” he said in a video posted to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
