By Alexis Taylor
AFRO Managing Editor
Media mogul Oprah Winfrey and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore delivered electrifying speeches on day three of the 2024 Democratic National Convention. A host of noted leaders and elected officials spoke straight to voters via live stream on the DNC’s official Youtube channel. Both implored voters to take part in the 2024 election and gave moving personal testimony to why they are in support of electing Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz into the positions of president and vice president, respectively.
“America is an ongoing project. It requires commitment. It requires being open to the hard work and the ‘heart work’ of democracy –and every now and then–it requires standing up to life’s bullies,” said Winfrey, on Aug. 21 at the Chicago-based convention. “I know this. I’ve lived in Mississippi, in Tennessee, in Wisconsin, Maryland, Indiana, Florida, Hawaii, Colorado, California…and sweet home, Chicago, Ill.”
Winfrey told the crowd that she has “actually traveled this country from the Redwood Forest…to the Gulf Stream waters,” invoking the lyrics of Woody Guthrie’s 1956 song, “This Land Is Your Land.”
“I’ve seen racism, and sexism, and income inequality and division. I’ve not only seen it at times I’ve been on the receiving end of it. But more often than not, what I’ve witnessed and experienced are human beings –both Conservative and Liberal– who may not agree with each other, but who’d still help you in a heartbeat if you were in trouble,” Winfrey continued. “These are the people who make me proud to say that ‘I am an American.’ They are the best of America, and despite what some would have you think, we are not so different from our neighbors.”
Winfrey said that her message was for her fellow registered, independent voters and those who are still undecided.
With less than four months left before election day, time is quickly running out before Election Day 2024 on Nov. 5.
Winfrey said now is the time to decide “what we want our futures to look like.”
“There are choices to be made when we cast our ballot,” she said, reminding voters that when it comes to the candidates up for election, “values and character matter most of all.”
Wes Moore spoke moments after Winfrey, and started his address with how Harris proved she was ready to be president when it came to the state of Maryland.
“On March 26 at 1:30 in the morning a container ship the length of three football fields slammed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore and the bridge collapsed. A port that drives 13 percent of our state’s economy was now closed,” recalled Moore. “Thousands of workers were hours away from waking up and realizing they no longer had a job. Six Marylanders who had been on the bridge in the middle of the night fixing potholes lost their lives. And one of the first phone calls that I got that morning started with these three words ‘Gov. it’s Kamala.’ She said ‘I know you spoke to the president and I want you to know that we are here with you every step of the way.’”
Moore said that his training and actual experience leading soldiers in combat in Afghanistan taught him that “you never learn anything about anybody when times are easy. You learn everything you need to know about somebody when times are hard and the temperature gets turned up.”
“America, I saw that Kamala Harris is the right one to lead in this moment first hand,” he told the audience. “United, with the Almighty God’s grace, we brought closure to the families of the six victims and while many said that it could take 11 months to reopen the Port of Baltimore, we got it done in 11 weeks because that is the story of America. We are a nation of patriots who serve when the mission is hard and who serve when the destination is uncertain.”
Moore spoke to voters who have become disillusioned.
“I know our history isn’t perfect. The unevenness of the American journey has made some skeptical, but I’m not asking you to give up your skepticism. I just want that skepticism to be your companion and not your captor,” said Moore. “I’m asking that you join us in the work, because ‘making America great’ doesn’t mean telling people you’re not wanted. And loving your country does not mean lying about its history.”
Moore said that Harris is a “prosecutor who defended our freedoms” that “had Maryland’s back” when the state “needed it most.”
“Now, MVP, we’ve got your back as well,” he said, before turning his attention to his “ fellow veteran,” Walz.
“Tim knows that in the military you count the days towards mission completion. We have ‘75 days and a wake up’ until election day,” said Moore, using military terminology for how soldiers in combat count the days before they can wake up and head home. “Seventy-five days and a wake up for us to prove what Americans can do when the pressure is on; Seventy-five days and a wake up for us to show that true patriots do not whine and complain–we put our heads down and we get to work.”
“Seventy-five days and a wake up to build a future that those who came before us hoped for, and those who come after us deserve,” Moore continued, rousing the crowd. “Seventy-five days and a wake up to elect a leader who is willing to believe in the best of us and that leader is Kamala Harris, the next president of the United States.”
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