Road to the DNC: Black delegates travel from N.Y. to Chicago

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As Chicago, host city for the Democratic National Convention 2024, fills with delegates and onlookers from across the country, Black and Brown delegates from New York State were especially eager to witness history as a Black and South Asian woman became the party’s presidential nominee. 

This year marked the 26th time Chicago has hosted the DNC since 1864. The city is well prepared to receive politicians, advocates, media, protesters, and delegates of all kinds (alternate, at-large, elected, Party Leader and Elected Official Delegate (PLEO), committee, and pages). Traveling from “far and wide” doesn’t even begin to cover how long some people have been on the road to get there.

For some, a 12-hour drive from New York City the weekend before the DNC kickoff was a great way to see the country and arrive early. 

Sabrina Gates, a first-time at-large delegate from New York State, lives in downtown Brooklyn. She and her colleague, Jabaran Akram, a first time Elected Delegate also from Brooklyn, opted to take the scenic drive over the course of about two days starting last Friday, Aug. 16. 

“Super-excited to support [Vice President] Kamala Harris and the efforts of the Biden administration. I want them to continue. I think she’s done a fabulous job,” Gates said.

They packed up Akram’s car with bags, suits, a box of T-shirts, food, and all the fixings necessary for a good road trip. Almost immediately after they pulled off, they were greeted with a wall of bumper-to-bumper traffic at the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridge entrances. It took almost two hours just to get out of the city. 

Their route took them along 80 West, through Jersey City and Pennsylvania’s Delaware Water Gap mountains. Into the night, they took turns driving through pouring rain along pitch-black highways across the state and into Ohio. The first stop on their journey was in Sandusky, Ohio, in the wee hours of the morning. After sunrise, and some much-needed rest, Gates sat outside to take in Lake Erie—the lakeshore was right behind the motel. She ruminated about the DNC, the significance of the moment, the journey so far.

“When you look at what our forefathers went through just to get Black people the right to engage in this process and to have a voice, a real voice…I think once you understand that, once you understand the pain and death and the destruction that happened along with fighting for those rights, there’s nothing you would want to do but vote, but participate in this process, but honor the legacy of folks like John Lewis, who really wanted us to be a part of this American Dream.”

From Ohio, Gates and Akram continued their journey along the tip-top of Indiana through more storms, seemingly endless farmland, graffitied freight trains carrying lumber and tanks, miles of power lines, and angry-looking steel mills that appeared abandoned. They made it into Illinois and Chicago city limits early Saturday afternoon. 

Gates was not the only person taking into consideration just how important this year’s DNC is. Even further up north in Massachusetts, dozens of New York’s Black delegates, politicians, and advocates wrapped up another major political event, held annually on Martha’s Vineyard. 

The third annual 2024 Council of Urban Professionals (CUP) Martha’s Vineyard Summit  featured speakers like Rev. Al Sharpton, founder and president of the National Action Network (NAN); Tarrus Richardson, founder and CEO of Private Equity firm IMB Partners; NYS Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie; Harlem’s Councilmember Yusef Salaam; and Michael Blake, a former New York Assemblymember and former DNC vice chair. 

Ny Whitaker, a former White House senior advisor and founder and chief strategist at PROJECT NYNE PRODUCTIONS, attended the summit on Martha’s Vineyard on Friday, Aug. 16. She said plenty of people like her were flying from Massachusetts back home to New York City and then on to Chicago for the DNC by Sunday, Aug. 18. She’s excited about the prospect of building a coalition with other party members from all walks of life at the convention.

“For me, this feels electric,” said Whitaker, who worked on former President Barack Obama’s campaign more than a decade ago. “I think of Shirley Chisholm, Gloria Steinem—women’s shoulders we stand on, particularly since the women’s movement started in Seneca (Falls) in New York. I’m literally getting on a plane, giving love to my family, and heading right back out. I think it’s so worth it.”

Brooklyn Assemblymember Stefani Zinerman, who is a delegate and a member of the DNC’s rules committee, had her two-hour flight booked already. On Saturday, she said she planned on getting in on Sunday to prepare for the convention.

Zinerman said that although Harris was the only one as the presidential nominee being considered on Aug. 1, based on virtual delegate votes, it’s still a bit of a precarious situation going into the DNC.

“This is the business of it. There’s always something that could happen,” said Zinerman about the in-person part of the convention proceedings. “There could be a protest. I think she’s going to move forward, but the procedural process of making public and transparent what has happened leading up to this…technically, she is [the nominee], but until she makes her speech before all of the delegates and they get the chance to ceremonially say that they pledge their support for her, it’s not a done deal.” 

Unfortunately, by Monday morning, there was a slew of delays coming out of John F. Kennedy (JFK) and LaGuardia airports, and many of the New York State delegation were held up on the tarmac. Many reportedly scrambled to drive to Chicago or find alternative flights. 

At the delegation breakfast, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer, and Governor Kathy Hochul wished everyone from the home state safe travels.