Mayor Brandon Johnson stresses Chicago’s Black history in opening-night DNC speech

Mayor Brandon Johnson delivered a short, but spirited pitch for Chicago during Monday evening’s kickoff of the Democratic National Convention, casting the city as a cradle of African American triumph that engendered the historic moment of a Black woman being nominated for president.

Addressing a far-from-capacity United Center crowd as one of the DNC’s first speakers, the rookie mayor and former teacher spent his few minutes in the national spotlight celebrating Chicago’s role in the milestone moment — while delivering a brief history lesson.

Johnson opened his speech by declaring Chicago “the greatest city in the world,” shouting out its long roster of Black and female trailblazers over the decades: the journalist Ida B. Wells, women’s suffrage activist Jane Addams, civil rights legend the Rev. Jesse Jackson and the U.S.’s first Black president, Barack Obama.

“And now, Chicago — this city of hard work and caring people — is where Democrats will celebrate President Joe Biden and nominate Kamala Harris for president of the United States of America,” Johnson said, to applause. “As the son of a family that worked to make ends meet, I know that Kamala Harris — the daughter of a mom who worked hard every single day — she is going to look out for the interests of everyday people.”

Johnson’s most visible moment in the DNC limelight featured the mayor’s common emphasis on racial identity, keeping in line with his recent stump speeches for Harris that drew on their shared journeys as Black leaders. He also nodded to her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, as a fellow former social studies teacher who “will never shrink from standing up for our democracy.”

“And as a Black man raising a little Black girl on the West Side of Chicago, I know that my daughter Braedyn will see not only a reflection of herself in the White House, but she will experience the deepest part of American values,” Johnson said.

A former activist who cut his teeth at the firebrand Chicago Teachers Union, Johnson has faced strong headwinds in enacting his progressive agenda since assuming office in May 2023. But after becoming one of the first Illinois Democrats to back Harris’ presidential bid when Biden dropped out of the running last month, Johnson has aimed to seize on her ticket’s momentum to propel Chicago and his administration’s national profile as well.

Johnson’s support comes even as he has taken a sharp stance against the Israel-Hamas war, a point of division within the Democratic Party. Addressing reporters earlier on Monday, Johnson danced around whether his recent comments referring to the conflict as “genocidal” were at odds with his stalwart cheerleading of the Biden-Harris administration, which supports Israel with weapons and aid.

The first evening of the DNC was branded with a “For the People” theme that Democrats said they hoped would draw a contrast with former President Donald Trump, who “puts himself first.” U.S. Sen Dick Durbin and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were scheduled to speak later Monday evening, ahead of a prime time speech by Biden.

Johnson’s slot followed a tradition of Democratic host mayors speaking during the first evening of the last three in-person DNCs. But with his speech concluded, the mayor’s main purview for the rest of the week will take place outside convention walls. That includes ensuring the safety and First Amendment rights of the thousands of protesters expected on the streets around the United Center and downtown, plus mingling with other politicos, business titans and fellow progressives to sell Chicago as a world-class city.

At the end of his Monday evening speech, Johnson concluded by praising Harris as the antithesis of the political movement behind Trump, who remains deeply unpopular in Chicago.

“What will it take to defeat MAGA Republicans and move our country forward and not backward? It will take everyone, and let me tell you all: Kamala, she’s got us,” Johnson said. “Together, we will build a better, brighter future. And there is no better place to start that than right here in the greatest freakin’ city in the world, the city of Chicago.”