Coming off the heels of the Democratic National Convention (DNC), LGBTQ+ delegates and other community leaders said they are reinvigorated and ready to elect Kamala Harris as president.
The DNC took over Chicago Aug. 19-22, featuring nightly speeches and other programming at the United Center, as well as daily caucus meetings at McCormick Place and a range of political parties and other events across the city.
The convention also saw record-breaking participation among LGBTQ+ people. Illinois sent 12 LGBTQ+ leaders to the convention as delegates, according to a statement from the Democratic Party of Illinois. In all, the DNC had more than 800 LGBTQ+ delegates, breaking a record set by outgoing President Joe Biden’s DNC that was held virtually in 2020.
“It’s not a small thing that there were more than two times the number of LGBTQ+ delegates than at President Biden’s convention,” said Ald. Timmy Knudsen (43rd Ward), who was also an Illinois delegate. “It means that they’re raising our voices from the beginning.”
Within the LGBTQ+ delegation, transgender representation also reached new heights. There were 45 trans and gender-nonconforming delegates coming from 23 states at the convention, officials said during the LGBTQ+ Caucus meeting on the DNC’s third day.
This level of inclusion signaled the Democratic Party’s commitment to protecting LGBTQ+ rights in the United States, said Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison, who was an Illinois delegate.
“For anyone who’s been paying attention, it’s the Democratic Party that is dedicated to protecting one’s bodily autonomy and one’s freedom to do what makes them happy, as long as they’re not harming anyone else,” Morrison said. “And that messaging for LGBTQ+ people was just as clear at the convention.”
Party leaders also engaged with the LGBTQ+ community outside of the United Center’s nightly programming, Knudsen said. Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, made a surprise appearance at the LGBTQ+ Caucus meeting held on the DNC’s first day.
“They showed an investment in our community that’s not just lip service,” Knudsen said. “This is something they’ve been doing for quite a while […] and I felt really lifted up as a member of the LGBTQ+ community.”
But some DNC-goers said they felt substantial LGBTQ+ representation was lacking on the convention’s mainstage.
Many high-profile speakers only addressed the LGBTQ+ community and its rights by speaking in euphemisms and never directly mentioning the community.
Harris did not mention LGBTQ+ people in her closing night speech, but promised to protect the “freedom to love who you love openly and with Pride.” Former First Lady Michelle Obama also only alluded to LGBTQ+ issues when she spoke on the DNC’s second night, when she criticized Republicans for “demonizing our children for being who they are and loving who they love.”
Ald. Bennett Lawson (44th Ward), who wasn’t a delegate but attended the DNC, said he felt like LGBTQ+ issues were addressed more explicitly at the convention’s surrounding events than at the United Center.
Lawson, whose ward includes the Northalsted neighborhood, attended several LGBTQ+-specific events around the convention, including LGBTQ+ Caucus meetings, a Drag PAC fundraiser, a queers in tech event and a DNC welcome party at Sidetrack.
“I felt like there were a lot of different aspects of the queer community being addressed and discussed that I’m not sure someone watching TV would have seen,” Lawson said.
Transgender representation was also minimal on the convention’s main stage at the United Center. Aside from P!nk’s gender-nonconforming child, who joined the pop star on stage to sing “What About Us,” the DNC featured no transgender people in its primetime lineup.
Transgender activist Charlotte Clymer addressed this lack of trans representation while speaking during the LGBTQ+ Caucus meeting held on the convention’s third day.
“At a moment when trans people are being viciously, directly attacked on a daily basis and on a daily basis and in a year when we are about to elect the first trans member of Congress in our country’s history, it is absolutely ridiculous that Sarah McBride is not on the speaking program,” Clymer said.
McBride, who is running to represent Delaware in Congress, spoke at the 2016 convention, becoming the first openly transgender speaker in DNC history.
Commissioner Precious Brady-Davis of the Cook County Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD), who is the first Black trans woman to serve in public office in the county, attended all nights of the DNC and several of its surrounding events, including a Human Rights Campaign rally at McCormick Place and reception by the Victory Institute at ROOF on theWit.
Brady-Davis said she understands Clymer’s criticisms about the lack of a transgender speaker.
“There are a myriad of Americans who have never met anyone who is transgender, and I think there will be more opportunities in the future to highlight trans folks,” Brady-Davis said.
But the level of transgender inclusion among the DNC’s delegation and event programming left Brady-Davis feeling included among the Democratic Party. Brady-Davis also had the opportunity to meet House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi and discuss the importance of passing the national Equality Act.
“As Democrats, we have a big-tent party, and there are a lot of us included in the tent already,” Brady-Davis said. “I think the convention itself was really about bringing more people into the tent, and I think that trans folks are in the tent at this point. But we need to bring more folks into the tent so we can win this election.”
Those who engaged in the DNC said they left feeling reinvigorated in the fight to elect Harris. But there’s more work to be done to ensure the vice president’s victory over former President Donald Trump in the Nov. 5 presidential election, they said.
Now, it’s “all hands on deck” for the remaining two months of the presidential race, Knudsen said.
“We’ve got to keep this momentum going,” Knudsen said. “We need to make sure this positive feeling of joy that the DNC left us with turns into results come November.”
For Knudsen, that means traveling to Midwest swing states like Wisconsin and Michigan to go canvassing—something Knudsen and his volunteers have expertise in from his 2024 aldermanic bid, which involved knocking on more than 20,000 doors. Knudsen is also working on postcard and phone call initiatives to get others involved who can’t travel to neighboring states, especially seniors who want to make a difference in this election.
“We have a duty as Chicago to show up for our Midwest neighbors,” Knudsen said. “We’re the blue stronghold here, but that’s not enough.”
MWRD Commissioner Marcelino Garcia, who was also an Illinois delegate, plans to visit Michigan Sept. 14 to knock on doors. He also plans to canvas in Iowa, which is expected to go for Trump but still needs strong turnout from Democrats, Garcia said.
“We need to make sure that Democratic voters over there come out this election just to show that the state can turn back to purple and hopefully blue at some point,” Garcia said.
Brady-Davis, Lawson and Morrison also have plans to canvas in neighboring swing states, they said.
“The energy at the convention was just remarkable—something I haven’t seen at that level since 2008 when [former President Barack] Obama was nominated,” Lawson said. “I’m really hopeful that we can keep this energy going so that it brings victory in November and can sustain winning coalitions beyond that.”
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