Unprecedented: Stories from the 2024 DNC examines the experiences and perspectives of Massachusetts attendees and others at the 2024 DNC in Chicago, Illinois. The first day had the theme "For the People."
Civil Miller-Watkins, guest from Rossville, Tennessee
"The most pressing issue for me, especially as a Black person, are our freedoms. And how it seems like if we don't have a Democrat … I'm afraid that more of the freedoms that were established in the ‘60s will be rolled back.
"I'm an educator. I teach eighth grade math, and I don't want Project 2025 to come around and the Education Department be gone from the federal level.
"I'm a mother of eight. I can't imagine ... we just had our 11th grandchild, and when my daughter was pregnant, I was very afraid for her because she didn't have the medical protections that I had when I was pregnant. So it's all about freedom for me. I need to be able to vote.
"What I know is there is one party that is full of hope and full of forward movement. I just say, get on the Democrat train ... And I want everyone to have hope. We have to have hope in our country. And I believe that that Democratic ticket gives us hope."
Ashley, Lilac and Venice, pro-Palestinian protesters from Chicago
“They're calling us single issue voters. But when has genocide ever been a single issue?” Venice said. “So I want these people to see what we're doing. I want them to understand that we will never stop fighting, and that if they're not going to get on our side, then they're not getting our goddamn vote. Sorry for cursing, but that's what I hope that they will change their stance. If they want our vote, they will change what they're doing. And if not, welcome to the rest of your lives.”
“I'm here because I'm Indigenous and I stand up for all Indigenous people,” Lilac said. “So when I heard about what's happening in Palestine in, like, 2018, I immediately jumped on that … I would do anything to free Palestine.”
"I learned about this years ago when there [were] bombings, like indiscriminate bombings. There were so many children dead. It was horrific. I've never seen anything like that in my life," Venice said. "And I'm Indigenous. I've never seen that with my own two eyes, despite what I know of my people. What struggles we came from, the Trail of Tears. It's the same as the Nakba. They were displaced, they were murdered, and those who would not leave, they're imprisoned, they're tortured, they're just — it's horrific."
“Just free Palestine,” Ashley said.
Duro Haynes, delegate from Stockbridge, Georgia, and a staffer in U.S. Rep. David Scott's district office
“Making government work is the best way to ensure that democracy can exist in the future. I watch as people can't get simple things from their government. And what I've seen from President Biden and the Biden-Harris administration is that they are really good at making government work for normal, everyday Americans. And that's huge. It's transformational.
"From like very simple things to like the IRS direct filing tax system where you can file your taxes directly with the IRS, or something like huge like the bipartisan infrastructure bill where like we're literally rebuilding bridges, paving roads and all kinds of stuff, stuff that we see, like back home in Georgia. In my hometown of Stockbridge, there's a big bridge that cuts across the entirety of the city. And for a long time, they wanted a pedestrian bridge so people can walk safely. And we can, like, invest in shops and stuff like that. It's huge. And through the bipartisan infrastructure funds, we were able to get that done. So I want, like, four more years of that."
Edward Bohannon is a delegate from Carrollton, Georgia, and a student at Yale University
“My next door neighbor in Carrollton, Georgia, wrote the voter suppression bill, two years ago after Georgia Democrats won the presidency and two Senate seats. So securing the right to vote and making it easier for Americans to vote needs to be the priority. At its core, it's the bedrock of democracy.
"If this election is about protecting democracy you've got to be able to vote and to win in November, people have to be able to vote. Expanding the franchise to people, ensuring that they're free and fair elections and getting rid of restrictive voting laws and regulations, I think, is a bedrock of America.
"I would say a nation is only as strong as its weakest individuals. And when you go to the ballot box in November, I think you need to consider which side is fighting for the working class and the, you know, interests of working in middle class individuals and the people who really need a hand up, not a hand out. And I think it's very clear there's one side that wants that. And I think it's important to consider."