Inside the Fight to Get Palestinian-American Georgia Rep. Ruwa Romman on the DNC Stage
"We’d love nothing more than to be joining the crowds in this politics of joy they’re promoting, but under the conditions we’re in, it feels hollow," uncommitted delegate Jeremiah Ellison, who wants Romman to speak on Thursday, told Jezebel.
Politics Democratic National Convention
As Uncommitted delegates continue their sit-in outside the United Center, after the DNC said they wouldn’t allow a Palestinian speaker to address the convention, delegates and a growing number of Democrats are now pushing for them to let Georgia state Rep. Ruwa Romman speak. Romman is a Palestinian American who’s vocally condemned the genocide in Gaza and the Biden-Harris administration’s role in it—while also stressing the importance of voting and pushing the Democratic Party to live its values, simultaneously.
On Wednesday night, Uncommitted leader Waleed Shahid wrote on Twitter that delegates submitted “several names” to the DNC for consideration and that “delegates are well aware that every speech would be vetted and edited by the [Harris] campaign and have agreed to that process.” He continued, “There are tens of thousands of Palestinian Americans. The DNC can find one person to speak.” One of the possible speakers submitted was Romman, who said on Wednesday that her “speech urged us to unite behind [Kamala] Harris, criticized Trump, and spoke about the promise of this moment. The only reason we’re doing this is to save the soul of our party and prevent bad actors from using our pain in an ongoing voter suppression campaign.” In immediate response to learning the DNC rejected their request, Romman said, “I do not understand how there’s room for an anti-choice Republican but not me in our party.”
My speech urged us to unite behind Harris, criticized Trump, and spoke about the promise of this moment. The only reason we’re doing this is to save the soul of our party and prevent bad actors from using our pain in an ongoing voter suppression campaign. https://t.co/HCLqciwM0v
— Rep. Ruwa Romman (@Ruwa4Georgia) August 22, 2024
Speaking to Jezebel, Jeremiah Ellison—an uncommitted delegate and Minneapolis city council member—said Romman “would be doing Democrats a massive favor” in addressing the DNC, not the other way around. “She’s an incredible speaker from a swing state and would be delivering a message of unity,” he said. “She’s come out in support of this ticket already, she understands the reality on the ground and also the need for party unity.”
The idea that a Palestinian voice would innately threaten party unity strikes Jeremiah as “a bizarre extension of xenophobia”: “We have lots of Palestinian-American elected officials, most are Democrats, or already endorsed [Harris].” Layla Elababed, a leader of the Uncommitted movement, has a sister who’s a Democratic Congress member; Jeremiah, himself, says he cheered for his father, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, while he spoke on the main stage Wednesday night. “Do you think any of us don’t want to be cheering for what’s happening at this event? We’d love nothing more than to be joining the crowds in this politics of joy they’re promoting, but under the conditions we’re in, it feels hollow.”
Uncommitted delegates came to the convention “determined to leave the DNC as committed delegates,” Jeremiah said. But over 700,000 uncommitted voters “sent us to the DNC to make this request”—for a ceasefire and end to the genocide, for Palestinian voices to be heard—and “we can’t simply go back to them and say, ‘Hey, we didn’t get anything we wanted, but let’s just take a chance here.’”
While participating in Wednesday night’s sit-in, Romman pointed out that, if anything, Uncommitted delegates demanding a Palestinian speaker are trying to help the Democratic Party. “I have been mobilizing voters in Georgia for 10 years. We helped build the electorate that delivered Georgia, there’s 76,000 registered Muslim voters in this state. There are 55,000 Arabs that live in the state. Are you really going to tell me we can deliver a win come November without them?” she said. “That’s not even including all the people that love us, all the people who care enough that went out and said, ‘I am standing in solidarity with you.’” She continued, “Not a single one of us wants Trump. I can set aside my own interests. I can put other people above me, trust me, I’ve done it my whole life as a Palestinian.” But stopping the genocide in Gaza isn’t just in her interests—it’s in the party’s interests, Romman argued.
I think everyone who scoffs at @uncommittedmvmt delegates for trying to engage the Dems at all should hear this from Georgia State Rep. @Ruwa4Georgia, our sole Palestinian legislator, speaking at the sit-in after DNC’s refusal to allow a Palestinian on the main stage. pic.twitter.com/0B1xzdJy2c