Attendees of the 2024 Democratic National Convention equipped different paraphernalia to showcase their various interests and associations. Attendees of the DNC varied from content creators to state delegates; all attendees represented themselves and what they stood for through diverse apparel. Susan Corbin, Stacey Young, Liz Blackburn, Micheala Kelso, and Darrah Joy Clay were among those who sported bold colors, meaningful clothing, interesting hats, and a variety of pins.
Liz Blackburn is a delegate in Democrats Abroad, a delegation that represents the 6.5 million Americans of voting age who vote UOCAVA and are protected under the MOVE act. Blackburn sports a cheese head to represent her home state of Wisconsin, a white stash in solidarity with the women’s movement, and an “I voted in Shanghai” pin.
“By wearing [pins and hats] we represent so many more people than can be here today,” Blackburn said. “We have to wear whatever we can to represent the women who cannot be here today, to represent those who wish to choose who they love who cannot be here today, to represent all of the millions of Americans who are abroad and cannot be here today.”
Stacey Young is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, a sorority Vice President Harris is associated with. Young sports a sequence jacket with sorority colors.
“It’s a jacket that I picked up a couple years ago, but I just felt like it was fitting for tonight. It’s our sorority colors, and [I wanted] to represent sisterhood with the sequence and the colors because this is a monumental moment,” Young said.
Young believes that wearing various apparel to the DNC shows support in a physical manifestation.
Susan Corbin is the Director of the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity and works for Governor Gretchen Whitmer. Corbin attended the Democratic National Convention to show support. Corbin carried a foam cut-out in the shape of the state of Michigan with the slogan “Fight like Hell”. Corbin was among many attendees who wore white in the DNC in order to pay homage to female suffragists who fought for women’s right to vote.
Michaela Kelso is a standing convention committee member from the Washington state delegation. The delegates of Washington dressed according to a different theme on each day of the convention. The theme for the fourth day of the convention was ‘Kamala’.
“Today’s theme, of course, is for Kamala, and her name means lotus in Sanskrit. So we have Lotus shirts. I also have my cowboy Kamala sash from day one, because we love Beyoncé
and Beyoncé loves Kamala,” Kelso said.Kelso believes that wearing various apparel is an efficient way to show the causes a person supports with just a quick glance.
Darrah Joy Clay is a registered Democrat, and this was her first time at the DNC. Clay wore the colors of the American flag on the 4th day of the DNC.
Clay believes that wearing bold clothing to political conventions fosters excitement, representation, nationalism, and excitement for democratic processes.
“There are so many creative ways to express yourself, through slogans, through clothing, through pens, through your votes,” said Clay.
Many attendees sported bold apparel to communicate political affiliation and show support. Through their choices in apparel, attendees contributed to a larger conversation about political identity and expression.
