ancnchor: from new york this is democracy now. were breaking with convention. senator harris: i keep thinking about that indian woman who gave birth to me at kaiser hospital in oakland, california. neverobably could have imagined that i would be standing before you now and speaking these words.

i accept your nomination for vice president of the united states of america. >> senator kamamala harris makes history by officially becoming the first woman of color to be a major party's vice presidential nominee. we will hear excerpts of her acceptance speech as well as former president obama's unprecedented warning that the future of democracy in the united states is at stake if president trump is re-elected. president obama: that is how it democracy weathers. no democracy at all. we cannot let that happen. do not let them take away your power. do not let them take away your democracy. >> we will air highlights from the democratic national convention and speak to the attorney and activist durecka purnell and the historian keisha blain. all that and more, coming up. ♪

welcome to democracy now, dedemocracynow.org. we arere breaking coconvention. i'm amy goodman. senator kamala harris has accepted the democratic vice-presidential nomination, becoming the first womanan of color to run on a a major party presidentitial ticket. harrisis is the daughter o of immigrants, , an indian mother d a jamaican father. she accepted the nomination on the third day of the virtual democratic national convention, on a evening filled with the voices of women speaking about gun violence, immigration, climate change, domestic violence and more. former president barack obama spoke just before harris accepted the nomination, warning president trump poses a grave threat to american democracy. president obama: this administration has shown it will tear our democracy down if that is what it takes for them to win. amy: later in the broaoadcast we''ll p play extended excxcerpf kamala harriris's acceptanance

speech and other voices from the dnc. in c california, hundrdreds of wildfires triggered by lightning strikes have exploded in size, fanned by gusty winds and record-high temperatures driven byby climate change. -- the climate crisis. governor gavin newsom has declared a statewide emergency and mobilized the national guard. governor newsom: we are experiencing fires the likes of which we have not seen in many years. considerity, when you 367 active fires that we aree awarare of all acroro the statef california. thickck smoke from m the fires has blananketed parts ofof nortn californrnia including the bay area, whwhere fires have consud overer 124,000 acres and are threatatening tens of f thousanf struructures. air ququality inin parts of the reregion on n wednesday registed as the worst in the world, with residents urged to remain inside with their windows and doors closed.

meanwhile california's reliance on prison labor has led to a shortage of fire crews. prison officials have placed 12 of california's 43 prisoner fire camps on lockdown due to a massive outbreak of covid-19 at a northern california prison that serves as a training center for r prisoners, who are paid jt $1 an hour to fight azes. toto see our special on this,s,u can go to democracynow.org. the united statererecord nearly 1,300ewew coravirirus deatat and 43,0 new cases on wednesday, with orgia, fririda , and texas s leadg the u. i in per-r-cata infnftions. the ofcicial u. dedeattoll ands at er 173,0. six months into the u.s. epidemic, healthcare workers report they're continuing to struggle to obtain personal protective equipment, as churches, schools, and businesses drive demand for limited supplies of n95 respirator masks and other safety gear.

tests arounund the country are n shshort supply. here in new w york city, t the d of the teacher's union said wednesday that members are ready to calall in sick or go out on strike if schools reopen for in-persoson classes beforere teachers feel safe. michael mulgrew is president of the united federation of teachers. >> the minute we feel that the mayor is trying to force people into a situation that is unsafe, we go. we go to court, we go to job action. that is where we go. amy: new york mayor bill de blasio fired back, warning the teachers' union against any labor actions that aren't allowed under its collllective bargaining agreement with the city. >> any union leader who talks about doing something illegal should really think twice about what he is saying stop amy: -- saying. amy: mayor de blasio has yet to

commit to a schedule for the fall school year, but has strongly suggested he's prepared to order some classrooms to reopen on september 10 under a "blelended" model l that combins in-person and distanance learni. new zealand has deployed 500 additional sololdiers to patrol quararantine hotels, after at least 75 people bebecame infnfed with the coronavirus in the capital auckland during the nation's first outbreak in more than 100 days. zambia's 79-year-old vice president teststed positive for covid-19 wednesday and went into self-isolation. at least 15 zambian lawmakers have contracted the coronavirus , and d two of them died of coviid-19. in europe, both spain and france have recorded their highest rates of infection since ending strict lockdkdns in june. meanwhile in sweden, health officials recordeded the natio's highesest death toll in over 150 years duriring the firirst halff 202020. this week, journalists obtained emails showing sweden's top epidemiologist pushed to keep schools open so that children

would spread covid-19 and push the population toward "herd immunity". he also asked a colleague whethehea higher death rate among g seniors mighght be acceptable. in iran, the official death toll from covid-19 passed the 20,000 mark, even as education officials planned to administer university entrance exams to over 1 million students. iran's surging cases came as president trump threatened to use a procedural maneuver to re-impose united nations sanctions against iran, something that european powers insist the u.s. doesn't have the authority to do. in belarus, mass protests are continuing m more than onone wek after a lolong time or a terrien leader was declared the winner of a controversial presidential election. on wednesday, european union rejected the election results and the eu is expected to soon

impose sanctions on individuals connected to the election and the repression of f protestersr. this is charles michel, the president of the european council. >> our m message is clear. stop the violence andd we do not accept the impunity. amy: in russia, opposition activist alexei navalny fell ill and collapsed during a flight from siberia to moscow, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing in omsk, where he was rushed to a hospital and placed on a ventilator. a doctor said the 44-year-old kremlin critic remains in serious s condition. passengers say navalny became violently ilill after he was photographed d drinking tea a an airport cafefe shortly before boarding the flight, raising the prospect thahat he was poisoned. in the gaza strip, israeli tanks shelled hamas positions

overnight in a ninth consecutive night of violence, as palestinians continued to launch incendiary balloons into israeli territory. in the occupied west bank, thousands of palestinians rallied wednesday to protest israel's agreement normalizing ties with the united arab emirates, in a deal brokered by the trump administration. at least three palestinians were wounded as israeli t troops fird tear gas. joe biden's campaign has disavowed palestinian-american activist linda sarsour, after she appeared at the "muslim delegates and allies assembly" side event to the democratic national convention. on tuesday, the biden campaign accused sarsour of racism and attacked her support for the bds movement, which seeks to boycott, sanction and divest from israel over its treatment of palestinians and its illegal occupation of the west bank. campaign spokesperson andrew bates told cnn quote, "joe biden has been a strong supporter of israel and a vehement opponent of anti-semitism his entire lilife, and hehe obviouslyly cos r viviews and opopses bds,s does the docratic platform she has role inhe biden campaignhatsoeve"

on wednesday, the dnaired a dedeo tieded, "aricaca ring: women's suffrage to women's march", featuring linda sarsouor , who's seseen leading a marchcf women activists. rsour twtweeted in respoponse, "when the dnc uses footage of my labor atat the women's march to make themselves seemem relevant while throwing my communities under the bus. you u can't make this up." meanwhile e ady barkanan, the american-israeli lawyer with terminal als who featured prominenently in the dnc's progm on tuesday, called the biden campaign's attack a "vile and dishonest statement." barkan tweeted, "linda is a fierce advocate for justice and freedom, and a leading antiracist and organizer against antisemitism. the biden cacampaign m must rett and apologize." president trump has openly embraced s supportrters of the far-right conspiracy theory qaqanon, describing them as "people that love our country."

he also refused to question the central plank of the conspiracy theory when questioned by a reporter. >> at the center of the t theory is the belief that you are saving the world f for mesa tanc santanapedophiles -- a cult ofannic -- satanic pedophiles. president trump: i had not heard that supposed to be a bad thing? if i can save the world from problems, i am willing to do it. amy: meanwhile, facebook has removed nearly 800 qanon groups as part of a broader purge. facebook also removed several prominent antifascist and anarchist pages including ones connected to the sites crimethinc.com and itsgoingdown.org, which criticized the purge saying , "suppressing the v voices of those who seek to protect their communities from institutional and white supremacist violence is an intentional decision to

normalize violence as long a as the e ones emploloying it hold inststitutional l por." the supreme coururt states it wl challengedent trump's on november 10. one week after the election. the justice department is continuing its case to have the obama-era healthcare law struck down as unconstitutional, even as an estimated 27 million americans lost their employer-based health insurance during the coronavirus crisis. a ruling is expected some time next spring. in ohio, the cincinnati reds major league baseball team has suspended veteran broadcaster thom brennaman after he was caught on a hot mic making an anti-gay slur. brennaman's comment on fox sports ohio came after a commercial break during a doubleheader wednesday between the reds and the kansas city royals. later in the broadcast, brennaman issued this apology before handing over his duties to another play-by-play announcer.

comment that i guess went out on the air that i'm deeply ashamed of. amy: in a statement, cicincinnati's baseball team sa, "the reds organization is devastated by the horrific, homophobic remark." and those are some of the headlines but this last headline , the state of michigan has reportedly a reached a deal to pay out about $600 million to victims of the water crisis in flint. the crisis began in 2014 when flint's unelected ememergency manager, appointed by then-michigan governor rick snyder, switched the source of the city's drinking water in order to save money. the move has been linked to at least 12 deaths from an outbreak of legionnaires' disease, as well as widespread lead poisoning in residents, including children. tens of thousasands of flint residents are expected to be eligible to receive money from the settlement. and those are some of thee

headlines. this is democracy now, democracynow.o.org. we are breaking with convention. i'm amy goodman. >> welcome to our listeners and viewewers around the country and around the world. we begin our show the democratic national convention. harris has accepted the vice presidential nomination, becoming the first woman of color to run on a major party presidential ticket. harris is the daughter of immigrants, an indian mother and a jamaican father. she accepted the nomination on the third night of the virtual democratic national convention on a nhtht fild wiwith the voices of women speaeaking about gun violence, mimigratn, clime e chan, dodomeic violce and more. early in t e eveni, foform cocoresswoman gabby giffords gave h longestpepeech ncee she wawashot in the headearly

10 yea agogo during g a constituent event in tuscon arizona. even today i struggle to speak but i h have not lolost my voice. all of to spea out, evewhen youave to fight to finthe words. we aret a crcrossroads. we can cap thahat let t tt shooting c connue orore can act. emma a gonzalez, who survrvived the e massacre a at marjory y sn douglas high sooool inarklklan florid n narrad a a vio abouou gun violence. they ha to lk by whe theyhemselvewere shot a lifeoes on aif we arof all -- we ve all not just watch somemeone die.

until one of us and all of us stand up andayay i cnot t do this, i cannot sit byndnd wat th news trt the shootings like as of god. gun violence wll n n stop unl the is a fce t to ghttigher -- hder agait it. myy n name -- i i am a latitind clclimate activistst. i grew up in a low income neighborhood where wages are often higher than other areas and a lot of kids have asthma. health, andr, better a steadidier iomome in -- for folks in neighborhoods like mine. of the fastest growing jobs in the country. joe biden's plan is transformative. he knows saving the plananet is not just t a challenge to overcome.. it is an oortunity for a better way of li. >> the convention alsoso featurd a video of an 11-yr-olold rl ading a leletter to donald trum

x dear donaltrtrump. >> dearonald trp. am 11 yes old.d. mymy m moms my best friend. she came to ererica a teenager over 20 yrs ago withoupapers isearch oa better life. she rried my dad w w served our coury as aarine inouth america. worked hard and paid taxes dd the obama admininisttion tolher shsh could stay. my dad thought you would protect lilitary families, so he veded r yoyou in 20, mr. preresint heays heheill not vote for you again after what you did to our mily. >> the wife of a u.s. ririne veteran was deported to mexico. >> you tour our family apt.t. my mom is aood pers. shis not ariminal.

>>e neneed a president who wll ing g pele togogher and not tell -- not tear them arart. >> that was 11-yeaold este juar. the 18-year-old musical superstar billie eilish performed wednesday night and urged the nation to vote. >> you do not need me to tell you that things are a mess. donald trump is destroying our country and everything we care about. we need leaders who will solve problems like climate change and covid, not deny them. leaders who will fight against systemic racism and inequality. that starts by voting for someone who understands how much is at stake, who is building a team to share our values. it starts with voting against donald trump and four vote -- joe biden. -- for joe biden. we all have to vote like our lives in the world depend on it because they do.

>> the democrat's 2016 presidential nominee hillary clinton also spoke on wednesday night. joe and kamala harris can win the popular vote and still lose. take it for me -- from me. >> senator elizabeth warren, who ran against biden and harris in the primary, spoke from an early childhood center in springfield massachusetts. three colorful letter blocks stood out behind her and they spelled out blm, the initials of black lives mater. >> we build infrastructure like roads and bridges and communications systems so people can work. that helps us all because it keeps our economy going. it is time to recognize that chilildcare is part of t the bac infrastructure of the nation. infrastructure for

families. make preschool universal, and rage -- raise the wages of every childcare worker. >> former president barack obama spoke just before kamala harris accepted the nomination on wednesday night. speaking from the museum of the american revolution in philadelphia, obama warned president trump was a threat to american democracy. president obama: i have sat in the oval office with both of the men who are running for president. i never suspected that my successor would continue my policies. i did hope for the sake of our country that donald trump might show some interest in taking the job seriously. that he might come to feel the weight of the office and discover some reverence for the democracy that had been placed

in his care. but he never did. now, hee to four years has shown no interest in putting in the work. no interest in finding common ground. no interest in using the awesome power of his office to help anyone but himself and his friends. no interest in treating the presidency as anything but one more reality show that he can use to get the attention he craves. grorown intohas not the jojob because hehe cannot. thathe consequences of failure are severe. 170 thousand americans dead. millions of jobs gone. while those at the top take in more than ever. unleashed, aulses proud reputation around the

world badly diminished, and our democratic institutions threatened like never before. -- joe andrris will kamala will restore our standing in the world. that matters. joe knows the world in the world knows him. he knows that our true strength comes from setting an example that thehe world wants to follo. a nation that stands with democracy, not dictators. a nation that can inspire and mobilize others to overcome threats like climate change and terrorism, poverty and disease. but more than anything, what i know about joe, what i know they kamala, is that actually care about every american. deeply about care this democracy.

they believe that in a democracy, the right to vote is sacred. and we should be making it easier for people to cast their ballots, not harder. believe that no one, including the president, is nove the law, and that public official, including the president, should use their office to enrich themselves or their supporters. they understand that in this democracy, the commander in chief does not use the men and women of our military, who are willing to risk everything to protect our nation, as political props to deploy against peaceful protesters on our own soil. understand that political opponents are not un-american just because they disagree with you. way we enemy, but the

hold officials accountable. the free press. to solve thess problem of a panandemic is to follow facts and science and logic and not just make stuff up. this president and those in power, those who benefit from keeping things the way they are, they are counting on your cynicism. they know they cannot win you over with their policies. so they are hoping to make it as hard as possible fofor you to ve , and to convince you that your vote does not matter. that is how they win. that is how they get to keep making decisions that affect your life and the lives of the people you love. the economy will keep getting skewed to the wealthy and well-connected. however health systems will let momore people fafall through the cracks. it democracy withers

until it is no mock -- no democracy at all. we cannot let that happen. do not let them tatake away your power. do notot let them take away your democracy. forormer president obama speaking at the demomocratic national convention virtualally. when we e come back, w we will r kamala harris. stay with us. ♪

♪ > "biden's dilemma" from thte soundtrack to coconfirmation. actress kekerry washington who hosted last nig's dnc convention starred a as anita hill. we are breaking with convenenti. i amam amy goodmanan. senator kamalala harris s accepd the dedemocratic vice-prpresidel nomination wednesdsday night

becoming the first woman of color to run on a major party presidential ticket. harris is the daughter of immigrants, an indian mother and a jamaican father. this is part of her speech. >> i am here tonight as a testament to the dedication of generations before me. women and men who believe ofrcely in the promise equality, liberty, justice, for all. anniversaryhe 100th of the amendment and we celebrate the women who fought for that white. so many of the black women who help secure the victory were still limited from voting long after its ratification. but they were undeterred. without fanfare or recognition, they organized and testified and rallied and marched and fought, not just for their vote, but for a seat at the table.

these women and the generations that followed worked to make realracy and opportunity in the lives of all of us who follow. way for thehe trailblazing leadership of barack obama and hilillary clinn --p these women inspired us clinton. these women inspired us to pick up the torch and carry on. women like -- we are not often taught their stories. but as americans, we all stand on their shoulders. whoseis another woman, name is not known, whose story is not shared, another woman

whose shoulders i stand on. that is my mother. she came here from india at age 19 to pursue her dream of curing cancer. at the university of california berkeley, she met my father, who had come from jamaica to study economics. they fell in love in the most american way while marching together for justice in the civil rights movement of the 1960's. in the streets of oakland and berkeley, i got a stroller's eye great johnt the lewis called good trouble. when i was five, my parents split and my mother raised us mostly on her own. like many mothers, she worked around the clock to make it work, packing lunches before we woke up and paying bills after we went to bed.

helping us with homework at the kitchen table and taking us to church for choir practice. she made it look easy, though it never was. instilled in my sister and me the values that would chart the course of our allies. she raised us to be proud, strong black women, and she proud us to k know and be of our indian heritage. she taught us to be conscious and compassionate about the struggles of all people, to believe public search -- public service is a noble cause and the fight for justice is a shared responsibility. lawyer, me to become a a district attorney, attorney general, and united states senator. way, iry step of the have been guided by the words i

spoke from the first time i stood in the room. kamala harris for the people. i have fought for children and survivors of sexual assault. i fought against t transnational criminal organizations. i took on the biggest b banks ad helped take down one of the biggest for-profit colleges. seeow a p predator when i one. my mother taught me that service to others gives life purpose and meaning. and how i wish she were here tonight, but i know she is looking down on me from above. i keep thinking about the 25-year-old indian woman, all of five feet tall, who gave birth to me at kaiser hospital in oakland, california. she probably could have never imagined that i would be

standing before you now speaking these words. i accept your nomination for vice president of the united stateses of america. >> during her dnc address, senator kamala harris addressed the coronavivirus crisis, naming president trump directlyly. senator harris: donald trump's failure of leadership has cost lives and livelihoods. if you are a parent struggling with your child's remote learning, or you are a teacher struggling on the others of that screen, you know what we are doing right now is not working. and we are a nation that is grieving. grieving the loss-of-life, the loss of jobs, the loss of opportunities, the loss of

the loss ofd yes, certainty. virusthe buyers -- the touches us all, it is not an equal opportunity offender. black, latino, and indigenous people are suffering and dying disproportionately. this is not a coincidence. it is the effect of structural racism. of inequities, education and tech -- and technology, health cacare, job sesecurity, and transportation. the injustice in reproductive and health care, and the excessive use of force by police. and in our broader criminal justice system. eyes and yets no it knows exactly how we see each

other and how we treat each other. let's be clear. there is no vaccine for racism. we have got to do the work. for george floyd, for breonna taylor, for the lives of too many others to name, for our children, and for all of us. work tot to do the fulfill that promise of equal justice under law. here is the thing. none of us are free until all of us are free. the constant chaos leads us adrift. the incompetence makes us feel .fraid

the callousness makes us feel alone. it is a lot. and here is the thing. we can do better. .nd we deserve so much more we must elect a president who will bring something different, something better, and do the important work, a president who will bring all of us together. ack, white, latino, asian, indigenous, to achieve the future we collectively want. we must elect joe biden. >> senator kamala harris accepting the nomination for vice president of the united states at the democratic national convention. she is the first indian-american and first black woman to be nominated for vice president on a major party ticket. for more, we're joined by human rights lawyer, abolitionist, and

writer derecka purnell, columnist for the guardian, and she is joining us from washington, d.c. usnk you for joining especially as you recover from covid. can you respond to the first african-american, caribbean american, indian-american, to be on,, the first woman of color to be on a major party presidential ticket? >> of course. thank you for having me. we have heard stories from women who are deeply emotional because ththey finally have a chance to see someone who looks like them. i remember watching president the nomination and become president. i deeply understand all of the this.ment around

women are excited becacause shes sharp anand witty and a woman of color. it is truly an hisistoric momomt for a lot of those reasons. amy: i wouould like to turn to e piece you wrote most recently for the guardian, why black progressive women feel torn about kamala harris. you're right that progressives will have to defend the senator's personal i get -- identity while maneuvering against her political identity. could you explain what you mean? >> of course. she gradaduated from howardd univerersity. jamaican and indian heritage. we have seen her break barriers and we know with the attention color,mes with women of ticket e early in the public spotlight, and in this country,

it invnvited sexist and racist d xenophobic responses. we have already seen some of that with some birther experience -- conspiracies used against her right now. aboutut the, shee spoke exact hospitital she was borornn oakland. color, particularly progressive, progressive black women, are also frustrated by aa narrative that the lack of indifference in america ended with barack obama and started up agaiain with donald trump. frustrated because of her record . her fight to uphold wrongful conviction, her support as attorney general of the death penalty. whenen she says i know a predatr when i see one, it is ironic because one of the wrongful convictions she fought to uphold was based onon the technicalityf

sosomeone serving 70 yearsrs in prison who might be innocent. fortunate thatat you have to protect someone because of their identity and against the notion that hands will be tied because they are a p person of color or black or woman or a child of immigrants, while at the same time, you care about the masses of lack people,e, poor people, d immigrants in the country. you know you have to be true -- speak truth and be on n -- honet about their record and be critical of them in the public spotlight. >> let me go to vice president to j joewho o sponded biden's choice of his running mate. senator kamala harris. biden and the democratic

party have been overtaken by the radical left. given their promises of higher taxes, open borders, abortion on demand, it is nono surprise that he chose senator harris to be his running mate. >> of course. make kamala harris less enough to bring in progressives but also that she is not bringing the party to far-left. it is a tactic that works. kamalala harris is a a moderate. -- this tactic from pentz pence is tryingg to use the radical left idea a to pusthe paparty for the right. it is working and it is why republicans were able to speak longerer than aoc. it is to confirm democrats can reach across the aisle, that the party is not to moderatete that

joe bideden believes that popole shshould have e more money as pe are hittining the streets to demand that departments all over are defunded. this tactic is working and there is no way that kamala harris is part of the radical left. if anyone is, is probably shirley, whom kamala harris invoked last night, endorsed by the black panther party. so it is ironic that we do not actually talk about the record of more people, rather talking about their beliefs and policies. is shenot by any measure part o of thehe radical left, ad that is unfortunate. >> the dnc strategy seems to be getly tryining to conservatives, republicans, and centrists to support biden.

do you thihink the dnc has donee the support of the more progressive wing ofhehe partyy? >> absolutely not. the example i just gavave, in te middle of a movement against police violence, you have joe biden coming out and saying he believes police should receive more funding and is touting community policing, a big reform that we know at this point does not work. in the middle of a pandemic where black and brown people, poor people, are dying at disproportionate rates, you have joe biden doublining down on his refufusal to supupport universrl health care. all of the reasons why people are hitting the streets, all the reasons why people are suffering, we are seen as doubling down. vice president joe biden decides

to not cancel like all student debt. all of the policies people have demanded to push apart -- the party further left, to say we should care about the people suffering, we see a d doubling dodown on the moderarate positis of the party and i it is unfortununate. >> i w wanted to ask you u aboue congress member from new york, aoc, being given 60 seconds to speak. poem.ponse, she tweweeted a forced upon me, i did not choose it, but i i know i must use it. give account if i abuse it and suffer if i lose it. onlyly a tiny little minute but eternity is in it. it was a poem cited by elijah cummings. the late baltimore congress member. this d does go to the sidelining

of progressives. eveven the american israeli was highlighted like he was known as a medicare for all activist, demanding medicarere for all for everyone in the country. never actually used those words. yesterday, he came out in support of the seiden campaign's and it was the american israeli attorney who is featured m mustd that the dnc reretract their attack on thee palestinian-american human rights activist. >> yes. it is unfortunate. one talking point that gets overshadowed is all of this stuff with benjamin netanyahu. she knows a preside when she

sees one, it is ironic but we know the united states has a long history of supporting violent l leaders all across the globe. hear excited to representative aoc and she used words like colonization and spoke of the violent struggles of the country. are progressives celebrating to dance and show cultural -- but when it comes to progressive policies, democrats are continuing to fall short. her kamala harris said in speech that these black women pave the way not only to vote but to have a seat at the table, she somehow neglects to mention that not only -- rejected the seat at the table but two seats because she said, we did not come all this way to settle for

lackluster opportunity to prprotest a paid. critical ofhighly the republican and democratic party. it is important that we talk about and acknowledge the history. it is not just about voting. it is about the h history of progogressive women in this country y taking considerable rk andd put -- pushing ththis couny forward. that is the position we should be in. >> before we concludude, 30 seconds, y you are recovereringm thee coronavavirus, whichh has n featured prominently. they talked about coronavirus, the p pandemic, during the dnc. talk about your experienence. >> sure. at this point, i thank god i am in a recovery. the last week has been a remarkable turnaround but at one point, i i was very sick. neurologicalthe

symptoms and none of the rerespiratory sympmptoms. h headaes.ing terririble i actctually cannot even smell 100% again but most of my energy is back and i am excited to be able to chase my babies around the house. it is unfortunate that the coronavirus is not something that is evil. it is the inability of people to act that is evil. it is the long history that made black people in the country have pre-existing conditions and those decision-making policy decisions, that people that we are experiencing, not simply because of donald trump, even though he is largely responsible. it is because for over 400 years, we have created environmenental conditions, economic conditions, that has madede people more vululnerable.

tthat is what progressives are saying no to. us.hank you for being with we link to your latest piece, why black progressive women feel torn about kamala harris. i hohope you have a speedydy recovery.. next up, k kamala harris is s nt the first black woman to run f r vice president. we will speak with h a h historn about how that didistinction belongs s to the journalist an in 1952. activist stay with us. ♪ ♪

>> this is democrcracy now, breaking with convention. tonight, joe biden will except democratic party's nominanation kamala harris became the first indian-american on a major party ticketet. >> these women inspired us to pick up the torch and fight on.

women like -- >> she is not the first black woman to run for president -- vice president. that distinction goes to the editor of the eagles for 30 women'shich covered suffrage, police brutality, the ku klux klan, and housing practices. she joined the progressive party ticket in 1952 and an antiracist policy system that called for -- health care. a longshot bid, they lost to dwight eisenhower.

she campaigngned with h the slo, win or lose. we win by raising the issues.. for more on charlotta bass and the black women who cleared a path for harris to be the vp pick, we're joined by keisha blain, associate professor of history at the university of pittsburgh and author of "set the world on fire: black nationalist women and the global struggle for freedom." she's also president of the african american intellectual history society. blain joined a panel wednesday at the dnc on "progress and the path forward" that looked at the unsung heroes of suffrage and black women's political power. heher forthcoming bobook ititit: "until i am free: fannie lou hamer's vision of america." welcome to democracy now! can you talk about accepting the nomination for vice presisident and the people on whose shouldlders she stands?

>> first, thank you for having me. it is important to e emphasize e fafact that kamala harris i is standing onn the shoulders off l of the women she mentioneded lat night, but also standing on the which youoff bass, pointed out. it is unfortunate she didid not mention that because bas -- ran on the e progressive paparty ticket. in so many ways, her exclusion last night f from harris's speeh i think signalals thee way we en do sideline black radical politics a and really echo somethining mentioned earlier, y how the movement tends to be sidelinened. i am not suggesting that the exclususion of bass was

inintentional but i think it was unfortunatate and i would love o hear more peopople acknowledging this history and the fundamemenl work bass did long before kamala harris. amy: why don't youou tell ushaht history? >> one thing we e know is that bass truly engaged andnd was described a as pragmatic activi. this is someone who shiftfted, o momove between organizatioions, someone who was literally at the sameme time that she was a leadr anyone who cp, studies history understands thee beieing able to function in two organizations that were erratic different even as they were committed to black progress. move fromthat, the supppportinghehe republicacan p, and then the democratic party,

and then a abandoning bothth of them, when shshe came to the conclusion there was simply not enough -- they were not doing enough for black people, f for women, for marginalized groupup, shshe put up her handsds and tra new party, the progressivive party. just really thinking about thehe m med betweenen organizations, shihifted between parties througughout her l life, speaks to her unwavevering commititment to advancing black politics. she e ver allllowed herseself te tied into one partrticular g grp or o one particulalar perspecec. she truly engaged in pragmatic shevism, believing that would do anything possible to improve the conditionons of blak people. >> could you also explain some which she wasss with most preoccupied, from police brutality to media stereotyping

of african-americans? aolutely. she was deeply committtted to challenging r racism and discscrimination.. as you mentioned, , one of the menentioned, eveven the media. one of the things s she did waso speak o out against t the film,a birth of a nation. to pull t the film from being shown publicly. shshe was not susuccessful in dg that but what she d did was poit out the problems with the film, ablele to ralllly the community. she openly denounced d the film. i think her efforts really captptured the way she w was concerned wiwith not only, black politics, but hohow black people are being represented on screen and as a journalist, she understotood the p power of wos and imagery and i t think that s

justst one example of how she ws truly,y, i thinknk, a fierce adadcate for b black people. and she was really bold.. she coconfronted t the kkk. policeressesed it -- viviolence and per tally. that got her in trouble. it is not surprising she was surveilled by the fbi because she was s someone who simply wod not sit on the sidelilines. she confronted every challengege and tried to come up with solutitions to fix the problem. why was shehe branded a commununist? reason peopleee boyceb to boyoyce -- wb to -- e earlier had been n brandes a problem f for the u united st.

leftist politics and she d did not e even needed to embrace any kind of platform to embracace --- to use t the term commmmunist wn thatat contextas simply to try and smear someone to say listen, this person is not american. what we know from histstory iss that peoeople who were b branded communist, whether they had cocommunist views were e not, we inindividualals who stood up, ae stooood up in the face of injustice, who confronted racism and discrimination and every timeme, they were vovocal, and y decided they would not cecept blackkeople being mistreated in this country. they were all of a sudden communist. >> your next book is on fannie lou hamer.

see now ine and you the democratic party and the establishment, even as history is being made with kamala harris being the first woman of color to be nomiminated by vice presidential candidate. >> it was truly wonderful to hear harriss evoke fannie lou hamer. hamer''sply investeted in ideas s and finishing a book on the topic. one thing i think it t is important to emphahasize is that hamer ran for office three times.s. i thinkhat is impmportant because we do not talk about it. the reasonon we do not is becaue she was unsuccessfsful. that evevenmindsett those stories,s, we ha to know.. those stories are powerful unsuccessful, was

that it does not mean their stories do not matter and it does not mean we cannot talk about their efforts. what is the key here, it is not about winning or losing. it is about how these women ultimately --

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