NATIONWIDE — Tuesday night’s Democratic National Convention was a star-studded tribute to Joe Biden, with a speech from two-term president Bill Clinton and a performance by 11-time Grammy-winner John Legend. But the virtual roll call that officially nominated Biden for president stole the show, as representatives from 57 states and territories cast their votes against a variety of iconic backdrops that were like postcards come to life.
From the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, to the wide open prairie of Wyoming and everywhere in between, the pre-recorded votes were a colorful, dramatic, and powerful showcase of American endurance and individuality that for many viewers served as a reminder of how much there is to love about the United States, despite the pandemic, the recession, and widespread social unrest.
“I don’t know about you, but tonight’s DNC roll call was the best I’ve felt about America in years,” Seth Abramson wrote on Twitter. “It was so moving to see folks from all over this great nation coming together in good spirits to voice their urgent desire for a new and better era in America.”
The social media platform was abuzz with positivity following the virtual roll call, which featured voices young and old, male and female, gay and straight, and from a variety of ethnicities and backgrounds.
COVID prevented the Democratic National Convention from happening in person this year, forcing a change in how the roll call took place. Rather than having attendees cast their votes from a loud and echo-y convention center, it was conducted virtually with stunning backgrounds that showcased each state in a way that was oftentimes iconic, frequently heartfelt, and occasionally humorous.
“My home state of Rhode Island went full on for the virtual DNC roll call, standing on the beach, declaring us the ‘Calamari Comeback State’ and featuring a ninja with a plate of squid. Very on Brand, RI!,” Lucia Vancura tweeted.
The breadth of perspectives alone was stunning. Those casting votes were a mix of Native Americans, immigrants, farmers, meat-packing plant workers, brick layers, and former presidential contenders, including former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar. They included Blacks, Latinas, and American Samoans, the parent of a victim of gun violence in 2018’s Parkland, Florida, school shooting, as well as the parents of Matthew Shepard, who was murdered in a gay hate crime in 1998.
They were, in a word, American, talking about the things Americans care about, and what Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are campaigning on: racial justice, healthcare, economic recovery, and environmental well being.
