Wave Staff and Wire Reports
CHICAGO — California’s largest city showed up and showed out at this year’s Democratic National Convention, a celebratory quadrennial event that, this year, saw the historic nomination of the first Black woman for U.S. president by a major party.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters and U.S. Sen. LaPhonza Butler were among the state’s political heavyweights who spoke at the convention that nominated Vice President Kamala Harris to be the nation’s first Black female president.
Speaking at the opening ceremonies Aug. 19, Bass discussed her long relationship with Harris and touted what she sees as the presidential nominee’s longtime efforts to serve the people.
“Our bond was forged years ago, by a shared commitment to children, a belief that it is everybody’s responsibility to care for every child — no matter where they come from or who their parents are,” Bass told convention delegates. “Kamala knows that each generation has an obligation to the next.”
Bass noted that when Harris was California attorney general, she fought to address youth homelessness and reform the state’s child welfare system.
“As attorney general, Kamala created our state’s Bureau of Children’s Justice and worked to give children in the juvenile justice system the support they needed,” Bass said. “We wanted to make sure that California’s foster youth are not cut off and left on their own the day they turn 18.
“And when I asked her to swear me in the first woman vice president, swearing in the first woman mayor of Los Angeles, we knew we were sending a message to young girls everywhere that they too can lead.”
Waters, who represents much of South Los Angeles and its adjacent cities, also spoke Aug. 19, comparing Harris to iconic Black political activist Fannie Lou Hamer.
Waters recalled being just 22 years old when Hamer arrived at the 1964 DNC convention in Atlantic City and asked that a group of Black delegates from Mississippi be seated in place of the state’s all-white delegation.
“She (Hamer) told the people in the room about the violence she suffered at the hands of white police because she, a Black woman, had demanded her right to vote,” Waters said. “When she finished, she asked the country a simple but profound question, ‘Is this America?’”
Although Hamer’s delegation was ultimately rejected in 1964, she made history when she became part of the Mississippi delegation to the 1968 DNC, Waters said.
“Now, here we are, 60 years later, at another Democratic convention with Kamala Harris as our party’s nominee,” Waters said. “I know there is no better leader to marshal us into the future.”
Butler spoke about her personal friendship with Harris and praised her character as a person and a stalwart public servant both as a prosecutor and California’s attorney general.
“Every time she walked into a courtroom (as prosecutor) she would simply say, ‘Kamala Harris for the people.’ ”Butler said. “For her, it wasn’t just a professional oath. It was a battle cry.
“I know a champion for the people when I see one,” Butler added. “The president that we deserve is my friend, Kamala Harris.”
Other keynote address speakers during the four-day convention included former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and former first lady Michelle Obama.
Los Angeles City Council members Bob Blumenfield, Monica Rodriguez, Marqueece Harris-Dawson, Curren Price and Heather Hutt are also attending the convention, prompting cancellation of this week’s council meetings.
Blumenfield, a member of the Democratic National Committee and vice president of the Democratic Municipal Officials, said it was great that Harris — who has a home in Brentwood — is the party’s presidential nominee because she is “close to many of us in the L.A. delegation and understands our issues.”
“I think that’s going to be a great benefit to Los Angeles,” said Blumenfield, a “super delegate” to the convention.
Hutt is a delegate in the category known as “party leaders and elected officials,” a spokesman said. County Supervisor Hilda Solis is also attending the convention, a spokeswoman said.
Convention delegate at-large Mike Davis, president pro tempore of the city’s Board of Public Works, said Democratic Party members can’t simply settle for nominating their first Black woman candidate for president — they must work hard to get her elected.
“This is just a big step, but there’s so much more that has to be done. We are not finished yet,” he said.
“The activities that we are going to be engaged in include voter registration drives and making sure that we communicate effectively with individuals from various communities throughout the state of California,” he added. “We must ensure that every voter gets out, whether through absenteeism or in-person voting.”
Carolyn Fowler, a seasoned DNC member and controller for the California Democratic Party, also stressed the urgent need for political engagement before the Nov. 5 presidential election, paraphrasing Michelle Obama’s message from Aug. 19
“Don’t wait on somebody to call you. Do something,” she said. “We need to inform, encourage, and support each other in getting out to vote.”
“There’s no reason not to vote,” she added, “and we’re here to make sure everyone knows that.”
Special correspondent Marie Y. Lemelle contributed to this report.
