Matt Hill, senior director of communications for the Democratic National Convention Committee, said the 2024 Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center will be more than the re-nomination of the president and vice-president. It will show its love and inclusion of the Black community in a big and historic way.
The August 19-22 Convention will provide a time for Democrats to showcase their agenda while speaking directly to the people, according to Hill.
In an interview with the Chicago Crusader on Friday, June 21, at the DNC headquarters, Hill said the Convention will provide Democrats the opportunity to make clear what they have done and accomplished during Biden’s first term in office, while “laying out our vision for the future and underscoring what is at stake in this high-stakes election.”
Specifically, Hill said the Convention will be home to delegates from all 50 states and territories, coming together for the official re-nomination of the president and vice president, both of whom will deliver acceptance speeches along with details of the “Party business,” where the candidates will be able to speak directly to the people while showcasing the Democratic agenda.
The DNC will welcome an estimated 50,000 visitors, including 5,000 delegates, 12,000 volunteers, and 15,000 media personnel who will focus their cameras and sound devices to capture and record the historic Run of Show that will culminate with the nomination of President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for a second term.
The Convention will ignite the beginning of a showdown for the November 5 presidential general election with a rematch between President Biden and former President Trump.
With so much at stake, Hill said the Convention “is a huge opportunity to showcase who we are as a Party and showcase what the President has done for this country and chart a path for this country’s future.”
Biden, Hill said, “has led one of the most transformative agendas in modern American history. There is a strong record of bi-partisan legislative achievements making a once-in-a-century investment in our country’s infrastructure to rebuild and build bridges, to deliver clean water, replace lead pipes” and improve America’s infrastructure. “He got that done on a bi-partisan basis,” said Hill.
“He passed a bi-partisan bill to get more semi-conductor technologies like chips, whether it’s films or cameras or tape recorders, everything we use, washing machines, our cars; he passed the bi-partisan bill to get more chips made here in America to create more jobs.
“He passed a bi-partisan bill to deliver extra healthcare to men who were exposed in the Middle East to toxic burn pits because they previously couldn’t get the healthcare they needed.”
Hill said the President has “taken the most progressive action in American history to cut back the climate crisis. He has taken action to lower the cost of prescription drugs. Seniors are paying $35 for insulin they need to manage conditions like diabetes.”
Saying the list of accomplishments during Biden’s first term is lengthy, Hill said both the President and Democrats believe that when you come together and work together you can get things done to make people’s lives better.
“Our government exists to get things done for people,” said Hill.
When asked what the President will do about ending homelessness in America, especially since HUD officials say all it takes is $20 billion to achieve that goal, Hill said this is a top issue for Biden and Democrats.
“He has laid out a really comprehensive plan to address homelessness and to help people get housing across America. He has activated the Department of Housing and Urban Development to leverage all the existing resources we have and to make sure they get the funding they need to get people the right to housing.”
When asked what the budget of the DNC is, Hill said the DNC is planning the programming and the Convention. “Our host committees’ (who are representatives of Chicago) aim is to fundraise $100 million, money we will put in and execute our Convention. They are very focused on making sure that all of Chicago feels the economic benefits of this Convention.”
Hill said in the past Democrats have gone to Philadelphia, Charlotte, Denver and in all those cities “across the board, we were generating about $200 million across those communities. We were investing in small businesses, mom and pop shops, hotels and hospitality industries with the workers reaping benefits of hosting an event of this kind.
“We are committed to making sure that these broad benefits aren’t just here in downtown but felt across Chicago, pulling in vendors from the West and South sides of Chicago,” said Hill.
When told that some people believe the Democratic Party hasn’t done much for African Americans, Hill said, “We are about to be led by three amazing African American women with Minyon Moore as DNC chair, Christy George as executive director of the Host Committee, and Keiana Barrett as senior advisor to the Host Committee.
“We care about the Black community here in Chicago, and we need to make sure that they benefit from our Convention and that their talents are showcased here, too,” Hill told the Chicago Crusader.
Hill said he is especially proud of the relationship with the Show Strategy company, headed by Chicago native Glenn Charles, Jr., who is from Englewood, now the DNC’s event manager and exposition service provider.
“This is the first time that a Black-owned, business-specific contract of this size” has been approved for a project of this size.
“We have also hosted events at Black-owned businesses, and we will continue engaging the Black community and showcasing them and their talents,” said Hill.
When asked about the outreach to Hispanics, Hill said, “The same thing. We mean to make sure they are engaged in our Convention, too.”
Asked how the DNC will deal with the many factions of protesters during the Convention, Hill said, “Protest is a feature of American democracy, not a bug. Protests happen at major political events, including Democratic and Republican conventions. “We are grateful to be working with the Chicago Police Department, which has a strong record managing large demonstrations so people can exercise their First Amendment rights. As Democrats, we support those freedoms.
“On the other side of the aisle, Donald Trump has said he will deport protesters for coming to his Convention. We will not do that. We will maintain public safety and security of this city for all residents. The city has said it will not tolerate any kind of violence or vandalism that is not constitutionally protected rights, but when it comes to people disagreeing and dissenting, we know that as Americans we operate on the same set of shared values. We respect people’s right to protest…”
Asked how the DNC will get Blacks to turn out on November 5 when recent polls state that in 2016 Trump received 17 percent of Black support but in 2024 it has allegedly doubled, Hill said, “We need to show what President Biden and Kamala Harris, our first Black vice president in American history, and Democrats, have done and delivered to the Black community.
“We need to use the Convention to talk about what’s at stake for the Black community like healthcare, and environmental racism in a lot of these communities that have been wronged.
“Democrats are the ones who will deliver on the issues that impact Black communities across America, and the Republicans will be all about cheap talk and say they are serving those communities when they are not.”
Hill said the Democrats will tell their story about what they have done for the Black community. This convention will showcase what Biden has done in his first term, he said.
It’s been 28 years since the United Center hosted the Democratic National Convention, and this time the DNC is expected to give Chicago a $150 million economic infusion, along with a boost of employment for African Americans.
This story was updated on June 28, 2024, to correct a misquote inadvertently published in the Chicago Crusader.
