Waters compares Harris to famous civil rights and voting activist Fannie Lou Hamer
US Rep. Maxine Waters, D-CA., speaking during the Democratic National Convention on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
By Clara Harter | charter@scng.com
UPDATED: August 19, 2024
California Congresswoman Maxine Waters took to the DNC stage on Monday, Aug. 19, to cheer on Vice President Kamala Harris and recognize her place at the forefront of America’s civil rights and women’s rights movements.
Harris is the first woman, Black person and person of South Asian descent to serve as vice president. If she wins in November, she will became America’s first female head of state.
In a three-minute address Waters, a civil rights and women’s rights champion, compared Harris to the Black activist Fannie Lou Hamer.
Waters recalled being just 22 years old when Fannie Lou Hamer arrived at the 1964 DNC 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,” said Waters. “When she finished, she asked the country a simple but profound question, ‘Is this America?’”
Although Hamer’s delegation was turned away in 1964, she made history when she became part of the Mississippi delegation to the 1968 DNC.
“Now, here we are, 60 years later, at another Democratic convention with Kamala Harris as our party’s nominee,” said Waters. “I know there is no better leader to marshal us into the future.”
By Clara Harter | charter@scng.com
UPDATED: August 19, 2024
California Congresswoman Maxine Waters took to the DNC stage on Monday, Aug. 19, to cheer on Vice President Kamala Harris and recognize her place at the forefront of America’s civil rights and women’s rights movements.
Harris is the first woman, Black person and person of South Asian descent to serve as vice president. If she wins in November, she will became America’s first female head of state.
In a three-minute address Waters, a civil rights and women’s rights champion, compared Harris to the Black activist Fannie Lou Hamer.
Waters recalled being just 22 years old when Fannie Lou Hamer arrived at the 1964 DNC 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,” said Waters. “When she finished, she asked the country a simple but profound question, ‘Is this America?’”
Although Hamer’s delegation was turned away in 1964, she made history when she became part of the Mississippi delegation to the 1968 DNC.
“Now, here we are, 60 years later, at another Democratic convention with Kamala Harris as our party’s nominee,” said Waters. “I know there is no better leader to marshal us into the future.”
Waters said that Hamer is one of Harris’s personal heroes, adding that if Harris becomes president in November, “We can ask ourselves ‘is this America?’ And we will be able to say loudly and proudly ‘You’re damn right it is’.”
At 86, Waters is one of the oldest and most experienced members of Congress and a trailblazer in her own right.
Waters was the first female and first African American Chair of the House Financial Services Committee. She is also a founding member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and past chair of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Once one of the loudest voices calling for Biden to remain in the race, Waters has quickly become a fierce champion for Harris and recently hosted an event in Los Angeles to rally Black voters in support of the vice president.
At 86, Waters is one of the oldest and most experienced members of Congress and a trailblazer in her own right.
Waters was the first female and first African American Chair of the House Financial Services Committee. She is also a founding member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and past chair of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Once one of the loudest voices calling for Biden to remain in the race, Waters has quickly become a fierce champion for Harris and recently hosted an event in Los Angeles to rally Black voters in support of the vice president.
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