This week's Democratic National Convention has been a historic one,non porn sex positions videos featuring the country's first nomination of a woman for president as a candidate from a major party.
It's also been loaded with star-studded speakers, including appearances from a sitting vice president, a sitting president, two former presidents, and a long list of celebrities and lawmakers. The star power, though, has all been pointing to Hillary Clinton.
SEE ALSO: Who got 10/10? Speechwriters rate the convention speeches so far.While she made an appearance on stage on Wednesday night following President Obama's speech, it was her Tuesday night appearance that underscored the historic nature of her nomination: an image of the previous 44 presidents was shattered, the sound of broken glass echoing through the hall, to reveal Clinton.
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At the end of Tuesday night's festivities, @HillaryClinton makes an appearance via video at #DemsInPhillyhttps://t.co/szZ2lNh48N
— Mashable News (@MashableNews) July 27, 2016
While Clinton will be the headliner on Thursday, though, the theme of powerful women was established early on in the convention and has continued throughout the week. Sure, lovable dads like Joe Biden, Tim Kaine, and President Barack Obama have had their moment too. But this convention has been dominated by strong women. From a First Lady to grieving mothers to a renowned comic, it was a banner week for spotlight speeches from women.
Michelle Obama
Outside of the nominee herself, the opening night speech by the current First Lady will go down as the most memorable moment of the entire convention. Michelle Obama managed to outshine congresspeople, senators, a vice president, and twopresidents with her stirring, emotional speech in support of Hillary Clinton.
It was so good that Michelle's husband, Barack, had to stay up late rewriting his speech so that he could keep up.
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The First Lady hit every beat: personal anecdotes about her and her husband's experiences in the White House; a jab at Trump's Twitter antics; and a ringing endorsement of Clinton.
But where Michelle was most effective was in talking about her daughters, Malia and Sasha, who have grown up in the White House. She spoke about them in a way that touched on multiple subjects at once: the ongoing struggle of race relations, the historic moment for women, and underscoring the DNC's message of choosing "love over hate."
Michelle Obama: "All our sons and daughters can take for granted that a woman can be president of the United States"https://t.co/PMApZeU5Kz
— New York Post (@nypost) July 26, 2016
That is the story of this country. The story that has brought me to the stage tonight. The story of generations of people who felt the lash of bondage, the shame of servitude, the sting of segregation, who kept on striving, and hoping, and doing what needed to be done. So that today, I wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves. And I watch my daughters — two beautiful intelligent black young women — play with the dog on the White House lawn.
And because of Hillary Clinton, my daughters and all of our sons and daughters now take for granted that a woman can be president of the United States.
In less than 15 minutes, the First Lady was able to erase everything from our memory about the fearful message of doom and gloom Republicans pounded on repeatedly in Cleveland and allow a ray of optimism and, yes, hope, to shine.
Elizabeth Warren
Following Michelle Obama's speech is a tall task, but U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren more than held her own as she transferred her fiery battle against Donald Trump from Twitter to the stage in Philadelphia.
Warren, who has vetted as a potential running mate for Clinton, showed her knack for combining her typically progressive message with anecdotes of her humble upbringing, all building towards tearing down Trump, accusing the GOP nominee of, "fanning the flames of fear and hatred."
But she also managed to get in some more light-hearted jabs at the opposition.
Trump’s entire campaign is just one more late-night Trump infomercial. Hand over your money, your jobs, your children’s future, and The Great Trump Hot Air Machine will reveal all the answers. And, for one low, low price, he’ll even throw in a goofy hat.
While Warren isn't on the ticket this time around, she continued to build on her reputation as a powerful Democrat focused on a progressive platform and, most of all, on defeating Donald Trump.
Marcia Fudge
The surprise hero of this week's convention is Ohio Rep. Marcia Fudge, who stepped in as permanent chair of the convention in the wake of the email hack controversy that ousted DNC head Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
Fudge has a lengthy history in leadership, as mayor of Warrenville Heights, Ohio (a Cleveland suburb) and chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. And she tapped into that experience on the heated first day of the convention, dealing with rowdy Bernie Sanders supporters who made their displeasure with the party known.
Right from the get-go, though, Fudge exerted her influence from the podium, saying: "There are many of you in this room that do not know me. Let me say to you, I intend to be fair. I want to hear the varying opinions here. I am going to be respectful of you, and I want you to be respectful of me."
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While the week has seen moments of dissent from some Bernie Sanders supporters, Fudge's strong but even-handed guidance has kept the convention on track, even if she has trouble remembering the gavel.
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Mothers of the Movement
The Black Lives Matter movement was in the spotlight on Tuesday night. The mothers of people whose deaths have spawned and fueled the movement gathered together on stage for a powerful demonstration of love, forgiveness and unity.
On stage were Geneva Reed-Veal (mother of Sandra Bland), Sybrina Fulton (mother of Trayvon Martin), Lucia McBath (mother of Jordan Davis), Lezley McSpadden (mother of Michael Brown), Gwen Carr (mother of Eric Garner), Maria Hamilton (mother of Dontre Hamilton), Annette Nance-Holt (mother of Blair Holt), Wanda Johnson (mother of Oscar Grant), and Cleopatra Pendleton-Cowley (mother of Hadiya Pendleton).
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Reed-Veal channeled her daughter, saying, "What a blessing to be standing here so Sandy can still speak through her mama."
Fulton added a note of urgency, saying, "This isn't about being politically correct, this is about saving our children."
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In a week full of powerful moments, seeing the group of mothers was among the most powerful, a reminder of tragedy of the recent past but a show of unity and power coupled with a call for unity.
Christine Leinonen
One of the most powerful parts of the week took place Wednesday night when a series of women associated with victims of gun violence took the stage to call on support for Clinton and gun control reform. Among those who spoke were Erica Smegielski, whose mother was the principal of Sandy Hook Elementary and killed during the Newton shooting, and Felicia Sanders and Polly Sheppard, survivors of the Charleston church shooting.
But especially powerful during this part of the program was Christine Leinonen, whose son, Christopher, was killed in the Orlando nightclub shooting along with his boyfriend and 47 others. Fighting back emotion and supported by Brandon Wolf and Jose Arraigada, survivors of the shooting, Leinonen remarked it took five minutes for a bell to toll 49 times to honor the victims of the shooting.
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Later, speaking of the gun used for the shooting, she returned to that opening: "The weapon that murdered my son fires 30 rounds in one minute. An Orlando city commissioner pointed out the terrible math: one minute to fire so many shots, five minutes to honor so many lives."
It was a powerful testament to a tragedy that is still raw.
Gabby Giffords
Former representative Gabby Giffords of Arizona wasn't expected to recover when she was shot in the head during a massacre five years ago. Since then, the Democrat has made a remarkable recovery, although she's since had to resign from office and now struggles with a brain injury that makes it difficult for her to speak.
When Giffords walked onto the convention stage Wednesday night, she was immediately met with a standing ovation. Giffords' words were brief yet cogent:
"Hillary is tough. Hillary is courageous. She will fight to make our families safer. In the White House, she will stand up to the gun lobby," Giffords said.
Clinton supports strengthening gun laws, making it illegal for domestic abusers to purchase guns and requiring universal background checks for firearms purchases. During a heavy night of testimony by victims of gun violence, Giffords' words and her story were an obvious highlight.
"Speaking is difficult for me. But come January, I want to say these two words: ‘Madame President," Giffords said.
Watch @GabbyGiffords' inspiring speech from tonight's session of #DemsInPhillyhttps://t.co/oMiWQoU2VZ
— Mashable News (@MashableNews) July 28, 2016
Karla Ortiz
Karla Ortiz, daughter of two undocumented immigrants, drew some of the loudest applause when she spoke at the Democratic National Convention Wednesday night. Though some of that enthusiasm might have to do with her age – Ortiz is all of 11 years old – her speech was notable for its painful sincerity and confidence.
"My parents came here looking for a better life, for the American Dream," Ortiz said. "I don't feel great every day; on most days, I'm scared. I'm scared that at any moment, my mom and dad will be forced to leave, and I wonder what if I come home and find it empty?"
The American public trusts Clinton more than Trump on the issue of immigration (maybe it has something to do with the wall he has planned?) Clinton has stated that she wants to create a pathway to citizenship for immigrants and pass immigration reform within her first 100 days in office.
"Valiente, brave, that's what Hillary Clinton called me when I told her I was worried my parents would be deported," Ortiz said. She then received the first standing ovation of the night.
Eva Longoria
Longoria might be best known for her role on Desperate Housewives, but the actress and entrepreneur proved that she is remarkably adept at political oratory as well. For her speech Tuesday night, Longoria, who was born in Texas to Mexican-American parents, called out Trump's bigoted remarks against women, people of color, and people with disabilities, using her own personal story as backdrop:
"So when Donald Trump calls us criminals and rapists, he’s insulting American families. My father is not a criminal or rapist, in fact, he’s a United States veteran," Longoria said. "When Trump cruelly mocked a disabled reporter, he was also mocking my special-needs sister Lisa and many like her. When he said that a wife who works is a very dangerous thing, he not only insulted me, he insulted my mother who worked as a special-education teacher for 40 years and raised four children while being a wife."
Longoria applauded the DNC for selecting so many speakers of color. 11 out of 24 speakers were people of color Monday night, more than there were during the entire Republican National Convention.
Sarah Silverman
Comedian Sarah Silverman had a number of one-liners during her speech Monday night, but the one she'll be best remembered by is when she finally (temporarily) shut down the Bernie Busters.
"Can I just say, to the Bernie or Bust people: You’re being ridiculous," Silverman said.
Silverman's comment followed a chaotic Monday night convention, where diehard Bernie delegates booed down convention speakers every time they endorsed Hillary. It was difficult at times to hear speakers like Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) even speak, given the volume of the booing.
Silverman was initially a strong Bernie supporter, but is now proudly endorsing Hillary. "This past year, I’ve been feeling the Bern," she said from the stage, adding, "Relax, I put some cream on it."
Though this convention has felt particularly divided, Silverman did better than even Paul Simon in "building a bridge over troubled water."
.@SarahKSilverman: "Can I just say to the Bernie or bust people, you're being ridiculous."https://t.co/S6Q236f0Br
— Mashable News (@MashableNews) July 26, 2016
Anastasia Somoza
Disability rights advocate Anastasia Somoza brought her audience to tears when she spoke out on Monday night against Trump's views.
Somoza was born with cerebral palsy and spastic quadriplegia when she was born. She now uses a wheelchair. Earlier this year, Trump had gone after a New York Timesreporter who had a visible disability.
"I fear the day we elect a president who defines being an American in the narrowest possible of terms, who shouts, bullies and profits off of the vulnerable Americans," Somoza said. "Donald Trump has shown us who he really he is. I honestly feel bad for anyone with that much hate in their heart."
Somoza previously interned for Clinton and worked on her Senate campaign in 2000. "Donald Trump doesn't see me, he doesn't hear me, and he definitely doesn't speak for me," Somoza said.
Disability advocate to @realDonaldTrump: "I honestly feel bad for anyone with that much hate in their heart." pic.twitter.com/4BrCuOjfiB
— Mashable News (@MashableNews) July 26, 2016
Trump may not speak for Somoza, so she chose to spoke for herself. Both in the convention hall and all across social media, people listened.