Democratic National Convention Coverage

Democratic National Convention Coverage – Summer 2024

In summer 2024, I accompanied a select team of student journalists to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago—marking a major opportunity for Howard students to contribute to national political coverage in a moment deeply tied to the university’s legacy. Vice President Kamala Harris, a Howard alumna and a prominent figure at the convention, made this trip especially meaningful for the students reporting on the ground.

Led by Professor Jennifer Thomas, Director of the Annenberg Honors Program and professor of the journalism broadcast capstone NewsVision, this trip was spearheaded to give students an unmatched reporting experience.

Our team covered the full spectrum of convention life: delegate interviews, platform discussions, cultural touchpoints like Alpha Kappa Alpha representation, legislation in progress, and moments of color and personality—like standout convention fashion. Their stories were published by HU News Service, adding the voices of HBCU-trained journalists to the wider conversation.

Each of them produced multiple published stories, blending sharp reporting with thoughtful framing. At a convention where national narratives are shaped, these students found and told stories that connected politics to identity, lived experience, and civic imagination—stories only they could tell, from where they stood.