By Honey Mahogany–
As a lifelong Democrat and activist, and as someone who has served for years on San Francisco’s Democratic County Central Committee, I was honored to be elected as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention this year, especially given all that is at stake in the upcoming election.
The imminent threat to our democracy posed by former President Donald Trump—who has been convicted on 34 felony counts (with more cases pending); who has been indicted for trying to overturn the 2020 election and attempting to prevent the peaceful transition of power; who, through his Supreme Court appointments, helped overturn the precedents of Roe v Wade, the Chevron Doctrine, and affirmative action in college admissions; and whose association to Project 2025 (affectionately described as the new authoritarian playbook) makes clear his objective to further divide our country and dismantle our democracy—certainly gives credence to the oft used rallying cry that this is, in fact, the most consequential election of our lifetime.
Still, many people, especially young people, were not excited to vote for 81-year-old incumbent President Joe Biden. But when President Biden announced he would not be seeking reelection and immediately endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, the response was electric. The shift from simply voting for the status quo, to voting for the first woman of color to be President, led to the Harris campaign raising over $200 million and signing up 170,000 new volunteers within their first week.
It was amidst all of this excitement, and following a virtual roll call that made Vice President Kamala Harris the Democratic Party’s nominee for President, that I traveled to Chicago for my very first DNC.
Chicago is an incredible city: bustling, green, vibrant, and diverse. The people are wonderfully friendly, and the weather that week was sunny and balmy but not too hot. It was perfect. Of course, I didn’t really get to see much of Chicago or spend very much time outdoors because, as soon as I landed, I was off to my first event.
The DNC’s official Delegate Welcome Party at the Navy Pier on the lake featured brilliant local bands, celebrity guests such as the original Luke Skywalker actor Mark Hamill, and a giant 450-pound cheesecake. I sadly didn’t get to taste a slice of that epic cheesecake, as I was busy trying not to be too overwhelmed by the hundreds of Democrats milling about the room grabbing selfies with one another and munching on some of Chicago’s famous deep-dish pizza and hot dogs. I did, however, run into several delegates I knew from across California, including a few from San Francisco. Sadly, I couldn’t stay too long at the official delegate party, because all of the LGBTQ+ events were happening at that same time on the other side of town, so I hopped into a cab and headed to Northalsted.
The queer mixers were all centered in the heart of Boystown and hosted by national LGBTQ+ organizations like the Human Rights Campaign, the Victory Fund, and Advocates for Trans Equality. I was able to meet many LGBTQ+ volunteers, activists, delegates, and electeds from across the country including Pennsylvania State Representative Malcolm Kenyatta, Illinois State Senator Mike Simmons, and Michigan State Senator Jeremy Moss. As much fun as I had that first evening in Chicago, I tried to make it an early night. I had to be up early the next morning for my first official day.
The actual convention was both more fun than I thought it would be, and more stressful. Our days started at 7:30 am when we would pick up our daily credentials. For the California delegates (and I imagine this was true of many of the other delegations), this was followed by an 8 am breakfast and speaking program where we got to hear from Democratic leadership from across the state and beyond.
The day continued with a trip to the convention center. Caucus meetings started at 9:30 am and went as late as 3:15 pm. While there, people could stop by one of the many Exposition Booths in the Hall, or grab lunch at the food hall in between caucus meetings, but the long security lines between the caucus meeting area and the exposition hall made going back and forth between the two an ordeal.
While I was at the LGBTQ Caucus on the first day, I was able to catch up with my Drag Race sisters BenDeLaCreme and Peppermint, who spoke on a panel and were there representing Drag PAC. DeLa and Peppermint spent the next few days conducting interviews throughout the convention. The Drag PAC also hosted a drag show and fundraiser during the convention where Willam and Detox performed, and DeLa and myself spoke about the importance of voting.
This year’s DNC was historic for many reasons, including the record number of trans people who were elected and appointed to represent their states: 50 transgender and nonbinary individuals served as delegates to the DNC. We also heard from trans elected officials such as Precious Brady-Davis, the first Black trans woman to be elected in Cook County; Delaware State Senator and Candidate for Congress Sarah McBride; and Virginia State Senator Danica Roem. I also ran into and was able to speak with Imara Jones, founder of Translash Media, for her podcast. We spoke about the recent Trans for Harris call we both participated in, and reflected on how much is at stake for trans people, in particular, in the upcoming election.
By far the most exciting part about the DNC was the big Convention Program at the United Center. As a matter of protocol, the Presidential nominee’s home state gets seating front and center, which was incredibly lucky. I’d heard from several people that normally California, as a safe Democratic stronghold, was often put towards the back with preferred seating given to swing states. But not this year. This year, California was front and center every night for the main event.
All of the Democratic Party’s heaviest hitters spoke on stage at the main Convention Program. A few of my favorites included: Representative Malcolm Kenyatta, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and my all-time favorite, who blew the roof off of the United Center on Tuesday night, former First Lady Michelle Obama.
The night of the roll call votes was another highlight of the Convention. While California didn’t have cheese hats, or Lil Jon as part of our roll call, Governor Gavin Newsom led the California Delegation’s historic roll call and announced the allocation of all of our state’s 496 delegate votes in support of our very own Kamala Harris in a mic drop moment that spoke to the importance and power of our great state.
Vice Presidential nominee Tim Walz and his family were an emotional balm for the soul and yet another convention highlight. And, of course, there was the moment we were all waiting for: the acceptance speech of Bay Area native, former San Francisco District Attorney, California Attorney General, California State Senator, and current Vice President Kamala Harris.
It was a truly monumental convention with many important takeaways. The most important takeaway for me was that the Democratic Party, in stark contrast to the Republican Party, is the party of diversity and building a bigger tent. That does not mean that we don’t have disagreements or make mistakes, and it certainly doesn’t mean that we don’t have more room to grow. We will continue to experience growing pains over the next few weeks and well into the future.
I think it is clear that not everyone felt that their views or communities were represented on stage. There were no trans speakers at this year’s convention, and while hearing from the parents of hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin was one of the most moving moments of the convention (Hersh was recently found executed by Hamas along with 5 other hostages), it was disappointing to see that there were no speakers to represent the Palestinian, Arab, or Muslim communities who are also in deep grief and pain and who want to continue to support the Democratic Party.
However, I think the thing that I was most moved and encouraged by is that there are people, of all genders and races and religions, who continue to be involved, who continue to push the party to grow, and to do better. And that work will continue and must continue as we beat back the threat of another Donald Trump presidency, by electing the best candidate to beat him: Kamala Harris.
There is an incredible amount of work that needs to happen between now and November 5. To find out how you can get more involved, I recommend checking out:
https://swingleft.org/
https://grassrootsdems.org/
https://sisterdistrict.com/
Honey Mahogany, a San Francisco native with a Master’s in Social Welfare from UC Berkeley, is a performer, small business owner, and activist. Her work has earned recognition from the City of San Francisco and various organizations. Mahogany co-founded the San Francisco Transgender District, is a founding queen of Drag Story Hour, co-owner of the Stud Bar, and a singer with nu-metal group Commando. She currently serves as Director of the Office of Trans Initiatives, Chair-Emerita of the San Francisco Democratic Party, and Delegate to the Democratic National Committee.
Trans Action with Honey Mahogany
Published on September 5, 2024
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