The first night of the Democratic National Convention had an anniversary feel as 1000’s gathered on the United Center in Chicago to crown Vice President Kamala Harris because the party’s presidential nominee.

The opening event showcased the variety of the Democratic Party and repeatedly highlighted black voices in politics, each past and present. It was fitting for a night celebrating the party’s first black and South Asian female candidate, who’s poised to make history on Election Day.

Here are five notable “dark” moments that occurred on the Democratic convention on the primary night:

Kamala Harris drew thunderous applause when she made a surprise appearance on stage on the primary night of the Democratic National Convention, kicking off every week that can soon end with the historic nomination of the vice chairman because the party’s presidential candidate.

Harris was not scheduled to attend or offer remarks until Thursday night, when she accepts her party’s nomination. But true to the unconventional nature of this yr’s election, Harris took the stage to Beyoncé’s resounding “Freedom” and addressed her party and the nation.

The vice chairman used the time to praise the “historic leadership” of President Joe Biden, who notably sacrificed his political ambitions to drop out of the 2024 nomination race against Donald Trump and endorsed Harris as his successor.

“Joe, thank you for your historic leadership, for your lifetime of service to our nation and for all that you will continue to do. We are forever grateful,” Harris said.

The vice chairman, echoing the theme of diversity on the previous reception, said, “As I look out tonight, I see the beauty of our great nation. People from every corner of our country and from all walks of life are united here in a shared vision for the future of our country.”

She added: “In November, we will unite and declare as one nation that we speak with one voice and move forward.”

2. Crockett attacks Trump with alliteration

Since her slogan, “Beach, blonde, ill-built, beach body,” went viral, U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a Texas Democrat, has been showing off her alliterative way along with her words. The congresswoman turned to the art of alliteration again Monday night, comparing Harris’ candidacy to Trump’s.

“The question before us is whether or not a vengeful, despicable villain will violate voters’ vision of a better America.” he said Crockett, to thunderous applause from the audience. She added, “I hear alliteration is back in fashion.”

Crockett used much of her speech to attract illustrative comparisons between Harris and Trump, using colourful statements similar to, “Harris has a resume. Donald Trump has a record,” referring to the GOP presidential candidate’s 34 criminal convictions.

Although Harris “worked at McDonald’s while she was at an HBCU,” Crockett noted that Trump “was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and helped his father in the family business — I mean, housing discrimination.”

She declared: “We deserve a president who will be a bright light in a sea of ​​darkness, one who… will pull us forward because we will not go back.”

Crockett was joined by other high-profile speakers from the Congressional Black Caucus, including Reps. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., Jim Clyburn, D-C., Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, Lauren Underwood, D-Ill., and Sen. Laphonza Butler, D-Calif.

3. Senator Warnock is taking this to church

Senator Raphael Warnock, a Georgia Democrat, took them to the church during his speech on the Democratic convention Monday night, an apparent reference to his role as senior pastor of the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church.

Channeling the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whose church he now leads, Warnock delivered a rousing performance, denouncing child poverty and calling for national and global unity.

“I need all my neighbor’s children to be OK; the poor children of inner city Atlanta and the poor children of Appalachia. I need the poor children of … Israelis and Palestinians” he said senator, adding, “I need those in the Congo, those in Haiti, those in Ukraine. I need American children on both sides of the track to be OK. Because we are children of God!”

Warnock cited the history of slavery and racial segregation within the South, noting that his then-82-year-old mother began picking cotton and tobacco in Georgia fields after which “elected her younger son to be a United States senator” within the 2020 election.

Warnock has slammed Trump for inciting the deadly and violent attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, based on the “big lie” that he lost the 2020 election to Biden due to voter fraud.

“But behind the big lie was an even bigger lie,” the senator said. “The lie that this increasingly diverse American electorate doesn’t get to decide the future of this country.”

He later added: “Kamala Harris and Tim Walz represent a new way forward. We will not go back.”

4. Jesse Jackson, Shirley Chisholm and others receive flowers

The Democratic National Committee deliberately decided to focus the convention on a history lesson (black) during an historic evening — and it was many years within the making.

NAACP President Derrick Johnson and Melanie Campbell, president and CEO of the National Coalition for Civic Participation, took the stage early within the evening to attach the DNC’s historic moment with the history of the fight for civil rights in America.

“Let us not forget the history that preceded this moment, nor the history-makers who prepared us for it,” said Johnson, who later declared, “Black history is American history.”

Johnson highlighted those that helped Harris rise in politics, including voter and ladies’s rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer and the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who ran historic presidential races in 1984 and 1988.

Campbell, who can also be an organizer of the Black Women’s Roundtable, supported female leaders similar to Shirley Chisholm, the primary African American woman — and the primary black woman — to run for president.

“President Kamala Harris’ journey to becoming the Democratic nominee for president of the United States has been built on the sacrifice, faith and patriotism of generations of black women,” Campbell said.

Later within the evening, former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton also noted Chisholm’s story, telling the audience, “Her determination allowed me and millions of others to dream bigger. Not just because of who she was, but because of who she fought for.”

Jackson, who uses a wheelchair and has Parkinson’s disease, later appeared on stage with civil rights leaders — including the Rev. Al Sharpton — and his sons, Jesse Jackson Jr. and U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson, an Illinois Democrat. The trailblazing leader waved to the group as he received applause. The moment likely got here full circle, because the DNC co-chair is Minyon Moore, who launched Jackson’s presidential campaign.

5. Biden Passes Torch to Black Woman

During his 40-minute speech, President Biden gave his full support to his vice chairman as his successor. It was a major moment in his presidency, as he used the moment to pass the torch to a black woman.

If Harris is successful on November 5, Biden will go down in history because the vice chairman of America’s first black president and the president who put into office the primary female president in America and the primary black and South Asian woman president.

While there was much discuss his decision to drop out of the race, Biden has admitted that he’s “too old to be president.”

The forty sixth president said choosing Harris was “the first decision I made … when I became our nominee,” adding, “It was the best decision I’ve made in my entire career.”

Biden spent much of his speech detailing what he and Harris have achieved during their time together, including actions which have particularly impacted Black communities across the country, similar to investing a record $15 billion in HBCUs, canceling billions of dollars in student loan debt and passing essentially the most comprehensive gun control law in nearly 30 years.

President Biden described Harris as “tough,” “experienced” and an individual of “tremendous integrity.”

“She will be a president that our children can look up to. She will be a president that world leaders respect because she is respected already,” Biden added. “She will be a president that we can all be proud of, and she will be a historic president who will leave her mark on the future of America.”

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