Vice President Kamala Harris’s acceptance of the Democratic Party’s nomination for president marked the biggest moment of the party’s nominating convention this week, but there were also several highlights leading up to the history-making moment on Thursday.
From Harris pitching a big tent party vision to gun rights advocates sharing their stories to a “Scandal” reunion on stage, the last night of programming at the DNC was eventful.
Here are five notable moments from the final night of the DNC in Chicago:
Kamala Harris puts up big tent in calling for unity
While Harris hit policy points that tacked progressive or centric, she made a point to try to appeal to people outside the convention hall, and outside the party. She said she was accepting the nomination “on behalf of every American regardless of party, race, gender or the language your grandmother speaks.”
Within her own party, she worked to find common ground. While Democrats have rallied around Harris as their nominee, there are still major disagreements on some issues. The Israel-Hamas war is perhaps the largest.
That divide was present at the convention, with pro-Palestinian protesters holding demonstrations outside the United Center and calling out the DNC for denying the request for a pro-Palestinian speaker.
Harris made a point to address the conflict during her nomination acceptance speech, walking the fine line between touting U.S. support for Israel and advocating for the rights of Palestinians.
“Let me be clear, I will always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself, and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself,” Harris said to cheers from the crowd.
“At the same time, what has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating. So many innocent lives lost. Desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety over and over again. The scale of suffering is heartbreaking,” she said, to applause.
“President Biden and I are working to end this war such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom, and self determination,” she said to roaring applause and cheers.
Gun rights advocates speak
One of the most stirring moments of the evening was when five gun control advocates and survivors took the stage to share their stories and call for reform.
The issue has been a galvanizing one for Democrats, who have continuously knocked Republicans on the issue of gun access.
Before the advocates took to the stage, the convention aired a video criticizing former President Trump’s remarks and past stances on guns.
Rep. Lucy McBath (D-Ga.), who lost her son to gun violence; Sandy Hook School shooting survivor Abbey Clements; Kim Rubio, who lost her daughter in the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting; and gun violence survivors Melody McFadden and Edgar Vilchez appeared on stage together.
“I carry that horrific day with,” Clements said, holding back tears. She said the colleagues and the first-graders killed at Sandy Hook Elementary should “still be here.”
Rubio described the day leading up to the Robb Elementary shooting in Uvalde, which started with her daughter Lexi receiving a good citizen award.
“Thirty minutes later a gunman murders her, 18 classmates and two teachers,” she said.
“Uvalde is national news,” Rubio said. “Parents reach out for their children. I reach out for the child I will never hold again.”
McBath then called for Americans to take action against violence through advocacy and running for elected office.
“Our losses do not weaken us. They strengthen our resolve,” McBath said to applause. “We will secure safer futures that we all deserve. We will organize. We will advocate. We will run for office.”
Central Park Five members taking stage
The focus on gun reform was preceded by another emotional moment: Members of the Central Park Five, who were wrongfully convicted of rape and assault, slammed Trump in addressing the convention.
In 1989, Trump bought full-page ads in New York newspapers calling for the death penalty against the then-boys, who were aged 14 to 16. The five were convicted of raping and assaulting a young woman jogging in Central Park.
Over 30 years later, Yusef Salaam, Korey Wise, Raymond Santana and Kevin Richardson appeared on stage with civil rights leader the Rev. Al Sharpton.
“Forty-five wanted us unalive. He wanted us dead. Today, we are exonerated,” Salaam, who is now a New York City Council member, said referring to Trump.
“He has never changed, and he never will. That man thinks that hate is the animating force in America. It is not,” he said.
Elizabeth Warren gets choked up
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) became visibly touched as the convention floor erupted into a long standing ovation when she took the stage to address Democrats.
The applause, which went on for over a minute, overwhelmed Warren, who put her hand to her heart, then covered her mouth, and rubbed her eyes, as she took in the sea of convention goers.
The welcome was symbolic of Warren’s importance as a leader within the party, particularly for progressives. It comes over four years after Warren and Harris competed in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary. Warren began her speech on Thursday talking about what she “loves best about Kamala Harris.”
“Kamala Harris can’t be bought and she can’t be bossed around,” Warren said.
Harris’s former Senate colleague went on to recount how she first met the now-vice president after the 2008 financial crisis.
“Donald was scamming students at Trump University and trying to make money off people losing their homes. Kamala Harris stepped up,” Warren said.
‘Scandal’ reunion at the DNC
“Scandal” fans rejoiced when the stars of ABC’s “Scandal,” Kerry Washington and Tony Goldwyn, reunited on stage in another show of star power at the convention.
“I am standing on this stage, but I am not the lead character in this story,” Washington said, calling Democrats and Harris supporters “the superheroes in this story.”
“You are the fixers, dare I say it, you are the Olivia Popes,” she said, referencing her character who is a political fixer.
Washington then asked for someone to bring her phone over when Goldwyn, who plays Pope’s love interest, President Fitzgerald Grant, appeared with her phone, prompting the crowd to erupt in cheers.
The two then chanted with the crowd, “when we fight, we win.”
