WOC Bloggers Share What Hillary Clinton's Speech Meant to Them
by Maria Niles

In Part 2 (you can see Part 1 here) of our interview with four women of color bloggers at the DNC, Pam Spaulding, Liza Sabater, Shireen Mitchell and Cheryl Contee talk about what Hillary Clinton's campaign and speech at the convention meant to them.


Comments

 

I made it to the future...

This is the first time I have seen women of color reporting on events at political convention.

Take in the moment ladies and savor. Get some sleep and keep the camcorders charged.

Wow. There really is a change occurring in my lifetime.

Gena - Out On The Stoop

 

Yes, Gena, I've never seen so MANY women of
color covering

the political conventions and I love it! At the same time, I have to give props to some women of color who have covered conventions in the past for the networks: Gwen Ifill, Farai Chideya and Connie Chung, for example.

Lisa Stone
BlogHer Co-founder
Surfette

BlogHer is non-partisan but our bloggers aren't! Follow our coverage of the 2008 political conventions

 

Since this is history, here's a transcript

Just in case you have a slow connection or wonder where you can read these bloggers, I've transcribed a few bits:

Liza Sabater of Culture Kitchen.
Twitter: @blogdiva

Everybody in the room went "gasp" when she [Hillary] said, are you here for me or are you here for the American people? She knocked it out of the park there. She addressed so many rumors...

Cheryl Contee of Jack and Jill Politics
Twitter: @ch3ryl

I was actually in the center during her speech, which was very difficult to get into. . . When she mentioned Harriet Tubman, and used that quote, you could feel [it] -- I mean there was just this gravitational magnetic shift in the audience. It was like some kind of lightning bolt had hit the audience. People later described it as goosebumps or shivers down their spine. There was something about it that was just so unifying because it was clear that she was speaking from her own experience of having really kept going even when things didn't look so bright for her campaign, but at the same time recognizing and alluding to the huge historical significance of Barack Obama and what it means for this country.

Pam Spaulding of Pam's House Blend
Twitter: @pam_spaulding

The political mood was "Why didn't we see that Hillary all during the campaign?" I feel like there was a true suppression of what she could have been on the campaign if she had not been handled, so heavily. And she has been done a terrible disservice by her handlers -- and we know who they are. This was almost a redemption. It was to show what could have been. It was sad in a way but it was also positive in many ways. She was passing the torch, finally. She was taking her people with her to that place where there's reconciliation. And It was just gratifying to see that all consolidated in one speech, so beautifully. There was no false note there. It was important for women of color that she acknowledged women of color. It was important that she acknowledged family. It was really just an amazing speech.

Lisa Stone
BlogHer Co-founder
Surfette

BlogHer is non-partisan but our bloggers aren't! Follow our coverage of the 2008 political conventions

 

Adding Southerngirl's post to the WOC mix

In Eating crow and loving it, Southerngirl follows up on yesterday's post, WHAT?!:

In my post WHAT? I wrote: If we want unity then she has got to put away her ego and get this done. If Bill Clinton is supposedly so broken up over his legacy under Bush then stop whining and get Barack elected. I get that she needed some time to lick her wounds but Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee have been making the news rounds for McCain where is she?

Last night she put her ego on the shelf and said expressly that this was not about her but the Marine without healthcare and the 47 million like him. She said democrats know how to do the things done that we need to do. As much as I am not a Hillary fan I am definitely not a Bill fan but watching his response to her last night made me cheer for him too.

I think if she behaved this way in the primaries I would have considered voting for her...more

Lisa Stone
BlogHer Co-founder
Surfette

BlogHer is non-partisan but our bloggers aren't! Follow our coverage of the 2008 political conventions

 

Like Gena Said...

In the midst of all the hoopla, take a moment and just pause:  this is true history in the making and a moment that will be written and talked about for generations.

Take a moment to relish the enormity of the accomplishments:

Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and all the WOC who are busting down the walls!

Megan Smith
BlogHer Contributing Editor, TV/YouTube
Megan's Minute: Quirky Commentary Around The Clock

 

The diversity here is amazing!

It is so fabulous to see the the range of women, people of color, LGBT, people with disabilities, young, old - on and on. I think Nancy Pelosi said that the majority of delegates are women this year. It's all deeply inspiring.

ConsumerPop Marketing
PopConsumer (Politics, Current Events & Links)
Beyond Help (Music, TV & Pop Culture)

 

Ditto to Paula Spaulding

I also felt that had Clinton stuck with her instincts and not suppressed who she is that things would have gone differently. At least for me, anyway. (I feel the same way Southerngirl does.) I also agree with the other women interviewed that she did an amazing job. Who knows what the future will bring?

Suzanne Reisman, Contributing Editor - Feminism & Gender
Campaign for Unshaved Snatch (CUSS) & Oth

 

Georgia Rep. John Lewis on NPR this morning

The only speaker still alive from MLK Jr's March on Washington, Georgia Rep. John Lewis, did an interview with Linda Wertheimer. It's on NPR.org here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94051037.

When Lewis talks about what it means to him to see a black man nominated as president and what tonight will mean to him, when he addresses the convention, he cries. Then he talks about how uniquely suited he thinks Obama is for the nomination.

I think this interview is such a gift -- short candid proof of the pain that fueled and continues to fuel anger against racism in this country. I'm so glad my son was in the car with me to hear it.

Lisa Stone
BlogHer Co-founder
Surfette

BlogHer is non-partisan but our bloggers aren't! Follow our coverage of the 2008 political conventions