My journey to becoming a DNC delegate
My road was filled with reverence for the rich history of the civil rights movement, and the legacy of activism and organizing Black women who dedicated their lives to the struggle left us.
My road was filled with reverence for the rich history of the civil rights movement, and the legacy of activism and organizing Black women who dedicated their lives to the struggle left us.
“Democracy is a goal to which our nation is marching … out of the darkness of slavery to the light of freedom.”
Civil rights pioneer Mary McLeod Bethune uttered those words on a NBC radio program in 1939. It is a goal the country has yet to fully realize.
However, at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago we marched one step closer, to the light of freedom, when Vice President Kamala Harris, the first Black and Asian-American woman officially accepted the nomination to be our party’s candidate for president of the United States of America.
My road to becoming a delegate was first and foremost filled with reverence for the rich history of the civil rights movement, and the legacy of activism and organizing Black women who dedicated their lives to the struggle left us. The official process started in January 2024 when I filled out a CT Democratic Party form declaring my desire to be a District-Level Delegate. Four months later in April, I received an email with the names of all the applicants and information explaining that there would be a Democratic Party caucus May 1 to vote on who would represent our district. My name was one of three from Bridgeport that I recognized. The other two were Mario Testa, chair of the Bridgeport Democratic Town Committee, and Mayor Joe Ganim. I laughed at the irony. IYKYK.
I didn’t know exactly how the caucus was going to work so I planned to attend and bring a friend. But on the morning of May 1, I got word that Ganim and Testa were working behind the scenes to block me. My first reaction was, how strange? Why do they even care about me wanting to be a delegate to the convention? I am a Black woman, born and raised in Bridgeport, a life-long Democrat, clearly aligned with the National Democratic Party’s values and platform. I am a trusted community organizer with a proven record of fighting for democracy both locally and state-wide. I advocate for free and fair elections, the expansion of voting rights, protecting our civil rights, social justice and anti-racist policy.
When I arrived at the caucus, women from across our district (some I knew, most I didn’t) rallied fellow Democrats to vote for me along with seven others from our Congressional District. I was in. Ganim and Testa were out.
Sixty years ago in 1964, Fannie Lou Hamer made her way along with members of the Mississippi Freedom Party to the Democratic National Convention to petition the credentials committee to seat their delegation. White segregationists denied them. It was not lost on me that Ganim and Testa, both white men who currently occupy the seat of political power in Bridgeport tried to deny me in 2024. But while the spirit of oppression is alive and well in them, the spirit of Fannie Lou Hamer is alive in me.
As I traveled from Bridgeport to Chicago to claim my delegate credentials, I thought about all the ways in which women, in particular Black women, have been denied, cast aside, lied on, plotted against and disrespected. I understood on a deeply spiritual level that there exists a direct line, an ancestral love line if you will, that connects Fannie Lou Hamer to me and all the Black women delegates who in 2024 were in position to take our seats.
That love line is bound with the light of an organizer’s spirit, activism, and freedom.
As a descendant of enslaved African Americans, a Black woman and the only Democrat from Bridgeport to be a delegate to the convention, it has been one of the greatest honors of my life to represent Connecticut and my hometown as our delegation cast 73 votes in support of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.
The Democratic National Convention was inspiring, energetic and unifying. The energy in the arena was palpable. From sunup to sundown, each day’s agenda was filled with experiences I will never forget. Experiences such as hearing Sheryl Lee Ralph sing an impromptu “We’re Not Going Back” and shaking Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s hand and thanking her for all she does for working families. There’s too much to recap here, but if you see me out in Bridgeport, stop and ask me about my time in Chicago and I will tell you all about it!
I always say everyone should go to a national convention at least once in their lifetime. An essential part of democracy is the competition over big ideas, policies, and vision for the nation.
As Democrats, we communicated directly with the American people about what’s at stake in November’s election: our freedoms, our democracy and our future. I for one shudder at the thought of life in America under a Donald Trump dictatorship and his Project 2025 agenda. That is why I am committed to doing everything in my power to make sure Kamala Harris and Tim Walz win on Nov. 5. From now until then catch me door knocking, phone banking, texting and rallying in Bridgeport and beyond in defense of our democracy and collective freedom.
Bridgeport resident Gemeem Davis is president and co-director of Bridgeport Generation Now Votes. This article was originally published in The Connecticut Post on Thursday, September 13, 2024