Politics / August 20, 2024

Raphael Warnock Lights Up the Convention With a Preacher’s Fire

The Georgia senator showed why the Black church remains the cornerstone of the Democratic Party.

Jeet Heer
Senator Raphael Warnock speaks during the 2024 Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago on August 19, 2024.

Senator Raphael Warnock speaks during the 2024 Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago on August 19, 2024.


(Bill Clark / CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

At a political convention, speeches are performances where style and delivery are as important as substance. Like improvised jazz, they rely on a preexisting material (an existing stock of arguments and talking points that are shared by the party) but come to life based on the panache and intensity of the performer.

In his speech on Monday night, Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock relied on the same set list as almost all the other speakers: the foulness of Trump’s January 6 insurrection, Covid-19 as a collective trauma that was overcome through solidarity, the Democrats as an inclusive party of the future that rejects “going back” to the reactionary past advocated by the GOP, the urgency of protecting reproductive freedom, the promise to fight to keep drug prices down.

But if the tropes were familiar, what Warnock did with them stood out. He didn’t invent a new style but rather revived the tradition of the progressive Black preacher that has been rarely heard in national politics since the heyday of Jesse Jackson (who, as it happens, was honored that night). It’s a venerable tradition, made globally famous by Martin Luther King Jr., that stretches back to slavery. Under the brutal regime of the enslavers, Black Americans were forbidden most forms of organization except the formation of their own churches, where they could hear sermons on how the Israelites under bondage weren’t forgotten by God, who sent them a leader that took them to freedom.

It was this message of redemption and healing that Warnock repeatedly evoked, not just by using the language of the faith but by his very cadence and lilt, which were those of the pulpit not the political arena. It’s hardly a surprise that Warnock spoke as an avatar of the Black church. He has been senior pastor of Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church since 2005. In keeping with his tradition, his faith and his politics have been one.

The message of secular redemption could be heard when Warnock said, “A vote is a prayer for the world we desire for ourselves and our children. Our prayers are stronger when we pray together. Together we flipped the Senate, held the House, and sent Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to the White House.”

Near the end of the speech, Warnock made a grand peroration:

“I’m inspired tonight by the memory of my late father, a preacher and a junk man. Monday through Friday he lifted old broken cars and put them on the back of an old rig. But on Sunday morning, the man who lifted broken cars lifted broken people and told them they were God’s somebody. My dad discovered strength in the broken places, a power made perfect in weakness. So I am convinced tonight that we can lift the broken even as we climb. I’m convinced tonight that we can heal sick bodies, we can heal the wounds that divide us, we can heal a plant in peril, we can heal the land.”

This ending brought the audience to its feet. The progressive Black religious tradition has made history in the past and is likely to continue to grow in power, especially as the Democratic Party expands in Georgia and North Carolina. In Warnock, this tradition has a powerful vessel, ready to sound forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat.

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

Jeet Heer

Jeet Heer is a national affairs correspondent for The Nation and host of the weekly Nation podcast, The Time of Monsters. He also pens the monthly column “Morbid Symptoms.” The author of In Love with Art: Francoise Mouly’s Adventures in Comics with Art Spiegelman (2013) and Sweet Lechery: Reviews, Essays and Profiles (2014), Heer has written for numerous publications, including The New Yorker, The Paris Review, Virginia Quarterly Review, The American Prospect, The GuardianThe New Republic, and The Boston Globe.

More from The Nation

Sherrod Brown: Three decades of talking about the dignity of work wasn’t enough to save him.

How the American Left Became Conservative How the American Left Became Conservative

Against the radical, if reactionary, experiment run from the White House, everyone from Democratic leaders in Congress to MSNBC hosts have turned to the defense of institutions.

Michael Kazin

Hundreds of protesters outside of a New York court to protest the arrest and detention of Mahmoud Khalil.

Mahmoud Khalil Is “Ready to Fight” His Unlawful Detention Mahmoud Khalil Is “Ready to Fight” His Unlawful Detention

The Nation spoke with Shezza Abboushi Dallal, a member of Khalil’s legal defense team, about the status of his case and the government’s attack on freedom of speech.

StudentNation / Luca GoldMansour

Trump Attacks Free Speech on Campus

Trump Attacks Free Speech on Campus Trump Attacks Free Speech on Campus

Jailing protesters won't stop the protests.

OppArt / Judy Polstra

Chuck Schumer Should Resign to Spend More Time With His Imaginary Friends

Chuck Schumer Should Resign to Spend More Time With His Imaginary Friends Chuck Schumer Should Resign to Spend More Time With His Imaginary Friends

The bad news is that the Democratic Senate leader isn’t up for reelection until 2028. The good news is that he can resign right now, and should do so—twice.

Jeet Heer

A protest against US President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s DOGE cuts to medical research and higher education during a “Fund Don't Freeze” rally outside the Health and Human Services headquarters in Washington, DC, on February 19, 2025.

As Trump Closes in on Public Service Jobs, Young Workers Look Elsewhere As Trump Closes in on Public Service Jobs, Young Workers Look Elsewhere

The president’s executive orders have raised concerns among college students and recent graduates, prompting some to reevaluate their career plans.

StudentNation / Sena Chang

Chuck Screwme

Chuck Screwme Chuck Screwme

The Marvelous Mr. Measles.