Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

Convention week will make history
by Lisa Keen, Keen News Service
2020-08-17

This article shared 2058 times since Mon Aug 17, 2020
facebook twitter google +1 reddit email


There will be a lot of history made at this week's Democratic National Convention. Some will be highly visible — like prime-time closing night speeches by two high-profile LGBT leaders. Some will be totally behind the scenes —like the role of an openly gay man as the convention's chief executive for operations.

The most visible difference this year will be that most delegates and press will not converge on the convention host city —Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Due to the corona virus pandemic, Milwaukee will serve as the "anchor" for activities, which begin Monday night, but the bulk of the convention will take place through broadcasts and livestreaming from locations around the country.

Openly gay former presidential contender Pete Buttigieg will deliver a speech Thursday night from a landmark in his hometown South Bend, Indiana. Openly lesbian U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin, who was reportedly on a list of potential vice-presidential candidates, will deliver a speech that same night from the Milwaukee.

The Thursday night slots are most coveted. That's because Thursday night is when the convention hears the acceptance speech of Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. Biden will be speaking from his home in Delaware.

Evening programming can be watched on just about any media platform one can think of —network television, Twitter, Roku, Facebook, etc. Each night begins at 8 p.m. EDT with entertainment, followed by speeches beginning at 9 p.m.

Monday, August 17: Viewers will hear from former Democratic presidential candidates U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Bernie Sanders, and former First Lady Michelle Obama, among others.

Tuesday, August 18: At noon, the party's official LGBTQ Caucus will meet. To participate, viewers need to RSVP on the DNC website. During the prime-time convention business meeting, viewers will see openly gay convention Secretary Jason Rae direct the roll call votes. Rae is a Democratic activist and partner in a media relations firm in Milwaukee. Speakers Tuesday night will include former President Bill Clinton and former Second Lady Jill Biden. And in a new format for a prime-time speech, 17 speakers, including three openly LGBT officials, will participate in delivering the "Keynote Address," at 9 p.m. The three are Long Beach, California, Mayor Robert Garcia, Pennsylvania State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, and Georgia State Rep. Sam Park.

Wednesday, August 19: LPAC ( or Lesbian Political Action Committee ) will host a "Salute to Tammy Baldwin" virtual event at 5 p.m., with recorded messages from a wide variety of prominent Democrats, including tennis legend Billie Jean King, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, and U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren, Tammy Duckworth, and Kyrsten Sinema, and many others. The prime-time convention will hear from vice presidential nominee U.S. Senator Kamala Harris. Other speakers will include U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, 2016 presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, and former President Barack Obama.

Thursday, August 20: The LGBTQ Caucus will meet again at 12 p.m. The last evening of the convention will include openly gay U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin and former presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg. And, of course, will conclude with the acceptance speech of Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, speaking from his home in Delaware.

LGBT people have played noticeable roles in Democratic National Conventions since 1980, when an unofficial LGBT Caucus nominated D.C. activist Mel Boozer to be vice president. Boozer, a prominent African American and gay activist in Washington, D.C., gave the first-ever speech by an openly LGBT person to the 1980 convention. Since then, the LGBT Caucus has become an official entity of the national convention, and many openly LGBT people have spoken before the gathering, some in prime time.

At the 2016 Democratic National Convention, openly lesbian Sheriff Lupe Valdez of the Dallas County Police spoke just a couple of hours before the presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton, did on the Thursday night of the convention. Valdez urged communities to do what they can to restore good relations between police and minorities. Other openly LGBT speakers that year included Chad Griffin, then president of the Human Rights Campaign, and U.S. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, co-chair of the Congressional LGBT caucus.

About 12 percent of the delegates attending the 2016 convention in Philadelphia identified as LGBT. That was up from eight percent in 2012. Numbers are not yet available for 2020.

This year, former Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese is the Democratic National Convention's CEO. Solmonese said the party has focused on "new and innovative ways to engage more Americans than ever before" through this convention.

The Republican National Convention will take place August 24-27 in Charlotte, N.C., with in-person attendance by a representative group of 336 delegates to cast votes on the first day. President Trump is expected to deliver his acceptance speech on August 27 from a remote location.

© 2020 Keen News Service. All rights reserved.


This article shared 2058 times since Mon Aug 17, 2020
facebook twitter google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

Chicago's LGBTQ+ Advisory Council sets a new course 2024-03-18
- Chicago's LGBTQ+ Advisory Council held its first meeting of the calendar year on Feb. 28 at City Hall in the Loop under the leadership of the recently appointed chair Jin-Soo Huh. The LGBTQ+ Advisory Council is ...


Gay News

NATIONAL Missouri measure, HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, judge, Texas schools 2024-03-15
- In Missouri, a newly proposed law could charge teachers and counselors with a felony and require them to register as sex offenders if they're found guilty of supporting transgender students who are socially transitioning, CNN noted. ...


Gay News

PASSAGES: Former Chicago Commission on Human Relations chair Clarence Wood 2024-03-13
- LGBTQ ally and former Chicago Commission on Human Relations (CCHR) Chair and Commissioner Clarence N. Wood died March 5. He was 83. Wood was born April 14, 1940, in Alabama. While primarily raised in Alabama, Wood ...


Gay News

Longtime LGBTQ+-rights activist David Mixner dies at 77 2024-03-12
- On March 11, longtime LGBTQ+ and HIV/AIDS activist David Mixner—known for working on Bill Clinton's presidential campaign but then splitting from him over "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT)—died at age 77, The Advocate reported. ...


Gay News

LGBTQ+ Victory Fund remembers co-founder David Mixner 2024-03-12
--From a press release - Today, LGBTQ+ Victory Fund President & CEO Mayor Annise Parker released the following statement on the passing of LGBTQ+ civil rights activist and LGBTQ+ Victory Fund co-founder David Mixner: "Today, we lost David Mixner, a founding ...


Gay News

Florida settles 'Don't Say Gay' lawsuit 2024-03-11
- On March 11, the state of Florida settled a multi-year lawsuit against the so-called "Don't Say Gay" law, which limits how LGBTQ+ topics can be discussed and presented in schools, The Hill reported. The settlement agreement ...


Gay News

ELECTIONS 2024 Precious Brady-Davis says climate change is top issue as she runs to finish appointed MWRD term 2024-03-08
- Precious Brady-Davis, commissioner for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD), is one of several candidates running to fill three seats on the board in the March 19 election. Brady-Davis was appointed to the role last summer ...


Gay News

ELECTIONS 2024 MWRD's Marcelino Garcia discusses flooding, land use and LGBTQ+ inclusion 2024-03-08
- Marcelina Garcia, commissioner for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD), is one of several candidates in the running to fill three seats on the board in the March 19 election. Garcia, who chair's the MWRD's Finance ...


Gay News

NATIONAL Altercation, mpox research, Univ. of Fla., George Santos, tech battle 2024-03-08
- Video footage uploaded to Facebook showed an altercation between a state trooper and two prominent Philadelphia LGBTQ+ leaders, the Washington Blade reported, republishing an article from Philadelphia Gay News. Celena ...


Gay News

LPAC celebrates historic wins for LGBTQ+ candidates in Super Tuesday primaries 2024-03-06
- From a press release: Washington, DC—Today, LPAC,the nation's leading organization dedicated to electing LGBTQ+ women and nonbinary candidates to public office, proudly announces the outstanding victories of 67% of endorsed candidates ...


Gay News

Illinois's first openly gay elected official voices support for Cunningham 2024-03-05
- Judge Thomas Chiola, who served in the Illinois Circuit Court of Cook County from 1994-2009, has officially endorsed Justice Joy Cunningham for reelection to the Illinois Supreme Court. Chiola is the first gay man to be ...


Gay News

Sinema retiring from the U.S. Senate 2024-03-05
- Kyrsten Sinema—the bisexual U.S. senator from Arizona who recently switched from being a Democrat to an independent—announced that she will not run for re-election this year, ...


Gay News

WORLD Canadian politics, Australian murders, Finnish study, 'Anatomy' 2024-03-01
- Canadian conservatives are divided over an anti-trans policy that Alberta Premier Danielle Smith handed down in her province, The Guardian reported. The policy includes a ban on hormonal treatment, puberty ...


Gay News

Ghana parliament passes harsh anti-LGBTQ+ bill 2024-02-29
- On Feb. 28, Ghana's parliament unanimously passed a controversial anti-LGBTQ+ bill that has been condemned globally. The so-called Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Act, which was introduced in the parliament in 2021, not only criminalizes ...


Gay News

Anti-LGBTQ+ Republican McConnell to step down from leading U.S. Senate 2024-02-29
- U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) will step down from Senate leadership in November, having served in that capacity longer than any senator in history, The Advocate noted. McConnell has been a senator since 1985 and has ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.