Politics / Photo Essay / August 23, 2024

Images From Inside (and Outside) the DNC

Here’s a look at this week’s 2024 Democratic National Convention.

Photos by Susan Meiselas

Long after the pageantry and the speeches at this week’s Democratic National Convention are forgotten, the images will linger. A beaming Kamala Harris capping her whirlwind journey to the top of the presidential ticket. Tim Walz’s son, Gus, unabashedly weeping with pride. The activists in the streets and on the floor, refusing to let Gaza be erased from the agenda.

This was a historic convention, one that saw every kind of emotion—jubilation, pride, defiance, heartbreak, and hope—flicker across its landscape. To capture this year’s DNC in all its complexity, we turned to renowned photographer Susan Meiselas, who was in Chicago all week. These are just a few of the many indelible images she brought back.

Chicago, August 19, 2024. Democratic National Convention.(Susan Meiselas / Magnum Photos)

To love this country is to fight for its people—all people, working people, everyday Americans like bartenders and factory workers and fast-food cashiers who punch a clock and are on their feet all day in some of the toughest jobs out there.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Chicago, August 19, 2024. Democratic National Convention.(Susan Meiselas / Magnum Photos)

So no matter what the polls say, we can’t let up. We can’t get driven down crazy conspiracy rabbit holes. We have to fight for the truth. We have to fight for Kamala as she will fight for us.

Hillary Clinton
Chicago, August 19, 2024. Democratic National Convention. Protesters marched toward the site of the Democratic National Convention on its opening day Monday to voice their opposition to the war in Gaza.(Susan Meiselas / Magnum Photos)

You’ve heard me say it before, we’re facing an inflection point, one of those rare moments in history when the decisions we make now will determine the fate of our nation and the world for decades to come.

Joe Biden

For years, Donald Trump did everything in his power to try to make people fear us, his limited, narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hardworking, highly educated, successful people who happen to be Black. Who’s going to tell him that the job he’s currently seeking might just be one of those “Black jobs”?

Michelle Obama
Chicago, August 19, 2024. President Joe Biden’s speaking in support of Vice President Kamala Harris’s candidacy for president during the first day of the Democratic National Convention.(Susan Meiselas / Magnum Photos)

History will remember Joe Biden as an outstanding president who defended democracy at a moment of great danger. Thank you, Joe.

Barack Obama
Chicago. August 20, 2024. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaking during the second day of the Democratic National Convention.(Susan Meiselas / Magnum Photos)
Kelly Jacobs, a delegate from Mississippi, at DemPalooza, held at McCormick Place during the Democratic National Convention.
Delegates enter United Center while passing by both pro-Israel and pro-Palestine protesters.(Susan Meiselas / Magnum Photos)
(Susan Meiselas / Magnum Photos)
Vice President and now officially the Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris gives her acceptance speech on the final day of the Democratic National Convention.(Susan Meiselas / Magnum Photos)

Support independent journalism that exposes oligarchs and profiteers


Donald Trump’s cruel and chaotic second term is just getting started. In his first month back in office, Trump and his lackey Elon Musk (or is it the other way around?) have proven that nothing is safe from sacrifice at the altar of unchecked power and riches.

Only robust independent journalism can cut through the noise and offer clear-eyed reporting and analysis based on principle and conscience. That’s what The Nation has done for 160 years and that’s what we’re doing now.

Our independent journalism doesn’t allow injustice to go unnoticed or unchallenged—nor will we abandon hope for a better world. Our writers, editors, and fact-checkers are working relentlessly to keep you informed and empowered when so much of the media fails to do so out of credulity, fear, or fealty.

The Nation has seen unprecedented times before. We draw strength and guidance from our history of principled progressive journalism in times of crisis, and we are committed to continuing this legacy today.

We’re aiming to raise $25,000 during our Spring Fundraising Campaign to ensure that we have the resources to expose the oligarchs and profiteers attempting to loot our republic. Stand for bold independent journalism and donate to support The Nation today.

Onward,

Katrina vanden Heuvel

Editorial Director and Publisher, The Nation

Susan Meiselas

Susan Meiselas is a documentary photographer based in New York and a member of the cooperative Magnum Photos. She is the author of Carnival Strippers (1976), Nicaragua (1981), Kurdistan: In the Shadow of History (1997), Pandora’s Box (2001), Encounters with the Dani (2003) Prince Street Girls (2016), A Room of Their Own (2017), Tar Beach (2020), and Carnival Strippers Revisited (2022).

More from The Nation

Chuck Screwme

Chuck Screwme Chuck Screwme

The Marvelous Mr. Measles.

Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) speaks to a crowd gathered in front of the US Treasury Department in protest of Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency on February 4, 2025, in Washington, DC.

Chuck Schumer’s Flight-Over-Fight Instinct Is Leaving Democrats in the Lurch Chuck Schumer’s Flight-Over-Fight Instinct Is Leaving Democrats in the Lurch

The Senate minority leader appears to think the way to resist the Trump administration is by voting for the GOP’s spending bill.

Chris Lehmann

Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN) speaks with reporters gathered outside Mercado Central on August 11, 2020, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Ilhan Omar’s American Dream Is Strong Enough for These Times Ilhan Omar’s American Dream Is Strong Enough for These Times

Thirty years after she came to the US, the Minnesota representative keeps the faith in an America that will ultimately reject the divisive politics of Trump and his minions.

John Nichols

Denying Reality as We Burn

Denying Reality as We Burn Denying Reality as We Burn

Check out all installments in the OppArt series.

Ward Sutton

Jeff Bezos, founder and executive chairman of Amazon and owner of The Washington Post, speaks during the New York Times’s annual DealBook summit at Jazz at Lincoln Center on December 4, 2024, in New York City.

Can the Free Press Be Saved? Can the Free Press Be Saved?

It will take a new movement of responsible readers and benefactors to protect independent media.

Katrina vanden Heuvel

Is Political Violence Ever Acceptable?

Is Political Violence Ever Acceptable? Is Political Violence Ever Acceptable?

Natasha Lennard argues that it’s harmful to acquiesce to the state’s determinations of violence, while David Cortright writes that violent acts prevent mass resistance movements.

The Debate / Natasha Lennard and David Cortright