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HERE IS THE SPEECH THAT THE UNCOMMITTED MOVEMENT WANTED TO GIVE AT
THE DNC  
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Noah Lanard
August 22, 2024
MotherJones
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_ Read what Georgia State Rep. Ruwa Romman hoped to tell Democrats.
Romman has been a vocal and prominent activist for Uncommitted. Waleed
Shahid, a strategist for the movement, said she was among a list of
potential speakers given to the DNC. _

Mother Jones illustration; Photos courtesy of Noah Lanard and Nate
Gowdy,

 

Delegates with the Uncommitted movement at the Democratic National
Convention have continued pushing this week for either a Palestinian
American or a doctor who has volunteered in Gaza
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be allowed to speak on the main stage of the arena. There are thirty
uncommitted delegates
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the DNC representing the hundreds of thousands who voted uncommitted
in lieu of supporting President Joe Biden’s primary campaign. They
have been calling for a ceasefire and a halt to arms transfers to
Israel while in Chicago. As we reported
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August 1, the Uncommitted movement has also been continually
requesting a speaker for the main stage.

Last night
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national Democrats denied their request for a speaker. Yesterday,
ceasefire delegates began a sit-in
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continue pushing for a brief speaking slot tonight.

Those concerned about the war in Gaza have been able to hold an
unprecedented panel on Palestinian human rights. And at a press
conference on Tuesday organized by the Uncommitted movement, doctors
told heartwrenching stories of what they’ve seen
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But they have not been allowed to address the convention as a whole.

On Wednesday evening, Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg gave
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moving speech from the main stage about their son Hersh
Goldberg-Polin
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who was taken hostage during Hamas’ attack on October 7. Uncommitted
activists supported the decision to provide an opportunity for a
hostage family to speak at the convention. But they believe it is also
important for delegates and voters to hear from someone who can speak
to the suffering in Gaza, where more than 40,000 people
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been killed, according to the local health ministry.

_[Related: After Denial of Speaker, Uncommitted Movement Begins Sit-In
Outside DNC
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_Mother Jones _obtained the speech that Georgia State Rep. Ruwa
Romman, a Palestinian American and Democrat, is still hoping to give.

Romman has been a vocal and prominent activist for Uncommitted
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Waleed Shahid, a strategist for the movement, said that she was among
a list of potential speakers given to national Democrats. Initially,
the Uncommitted movement pushed for Dr. Tanya Haj-Hassan,
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pediatric intensive care doctor who volunteered in Gaza, to speak.
(She is not Palestinian.) Shahid said this request was denied earlier
in the week. After, the movement sent a list of more names for
potential speakers, including Rep. Romman. (Shahid said he heard that
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s office was pushing for a speech from
Romman.)

In an interview, Romman called herself a safe, last resort. “If an
elected official in a swing state who is Palestinian cannot make it on
that stage nobody else can,” she told _Mother Jones_.

Below, you can find the speech Romman wants to give. Uncommitted says
it was open to multiple speakers. Rep. Romman and Uncommitted
organizers both confirmed that this was the speech she was planning to
give if allowed for a potential 2-minute speaking slot. Uncommitted
said they were open to the speech being edited and vetted. They said
the DNC did not ask to see the speech.

“We prepped the speech,” Romman told _Mother Jones_. “We
don’t know why the campaign said no. We literally have no feedback.
We are in the dark.”

The DNC did not respond to requests for comment in time for
publication about why Romman—or another speaker—would not have
been acceptable.

“I want to be clear,” Romman said. “We’ve been in negotiations
for days. This did not just come up…We’ve been talking about this
for at least a week. In addition, the campaign told us that not
getting a ‘no’ [initially upon first hearing the request] was a
really good sign. For them to give us a ‘no’ the same day that
Geoff Duncan [a Republican from Georgia
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was on the stage—especially when it was my name—was just
absolutely a slap in the face.”
 

Here is the text of Romman’s speech:

_My name is Ruwa Romman, and I’m honored to be the first Palestinian
elected to public office in the great state of Georgia and the first
Palestinian to ever speak at the Democratic National Convention. My
story begins in a small village near Jerusalem, called Suba, where my
dad’s family is from. My mom’s roots trace back to Al Khalil, or
Hebron. My parents, born in Jordan, brought us to Georgia when I was
eight, where I now live with my wonderful husband and our sweet pets._

_Growing up, my grandfather and I shared a special bond. He was my
partner in mischief—whether it was sneaking me sweets from the
bodega or slipping a $20 into my pocket with that familiar wink and
smile. He was my rock, but he passed away a few years ago, never
seeing Suba or any part of Palestine again. Not a day goes by that I
don’t miss him._

_This past year has been especially hard. As we’ve been moral
witnesses to the massacres in Gaza, I’ve thought of him, wondering
if this was the pain he knew too well. When we watched Palestinians
displaced from one end of the Gaza Strip to the other I wanted to ask
him how he found the strength to walk all those miles decades ago and
leave everything behind. _

_But in this pain, I’ve also witnessed something profound—a
beautiful, multifaith, multiracial, and multigenerational coalition
rising from despair within our Democratic Party. For 320 days, we’ve
stood together, demanding to enforce our laws on friend and foe alike
to reach a ceasefire, end the killing of Palestinians, free all the
Israeli and Palestinian hostages, and to begin the difficult work of
building a path to collective peace and safety. That’s why we are
here—members of this Democratic Party committed to equal rights and
dignity for all. What we do here echoes around the world._

_They’ll say this is how it’s always been, that nothing can
change. But remember Fannie Lou Hamer—shunned for her courage, yet
she paved the way for an integrated Democratic Party. Her legacy lives
on, and it’s her example we follow._

_But we can’t do it alone. This historic moment is full of promise,
but only if we stand together. Our party’s greatest strength has
always been our ability to unite. Some see that as a weakness, but
it’s time we flex that strength. _

_Let’s commit to each other, to electing Vice President Harris and
defeating Donald Trump who uses my identity as a Palestinian as a
slur. Let’s fight for the policies long overdue—from restoring
access to abortions to ensuring a living wage, to demanding an end to
reckless war and a ceasefire in Gaza. To those who doubt us, to the
cynics and the naysayers, I say, yes we can—yes we can be a
Democratic Party that prioritizes funding our schools and hospitals,
not for endless wars. That fights for an America that belongs to all
of us—Black, brown, and white, Jews and Palestinians, all of us,
like my grandfather taught me, together._

_Mother Jones is up for the hard, consequential work ahead._

_Please help with a donation of any amount if you can right now
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And know that we’re grateful._

* Uncommitted Movement
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* uncommitted voters
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* Uncommitted
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* Ruwa Romman
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* Ceasefire
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* Arms embargo
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* Democratic Convention
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* Kamala Harris
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* Tim Walz
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* Stop Trump
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* Donald Trump
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* 2024 Elections
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* U.S.-Israel military aid
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* Gaza
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* Israel-Gaza War
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* Israel
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* Palestine
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* IDF
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* Benjamin Netanyahu
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* Hostages
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* Hamas
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