The Uncommitted movement’s success at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) is not just a fleeting victory — it is the beginning of a strategic shift in how the Democratic Party grapples with its own contradictions.
Much like the 1964 Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP), which challenged the segregationist stronghold of the Mississippi Democratic Party but was ultimately denied a seat at the convention, the Uncommitted movement didn’t win every immediate demand. But the true victory lies in the alliances forged, the hypocrisies exposed, and the narrative shift that will reverberate long after the convention doors have closed.
The MFDP, under the leadership of Bob Moses, Fannie Lou Hamer, and Ella Baker, didn’t just confront the Dixiecrats — they revealed the Democratic Party’s moral failings on a national stage. By doing so, they laid the groundwork for future civil rights victories. Similarly, the Uncommitted movement engaged with a diverse coalition at the DNC — rank-and-file Kamala Harris delegates, unions like the United Auto Workers, Jewish organizations like Bend the Arc, and elected officials like representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, and Ro Khanna. The support from black leaders like Pastor Michael McBride and Reverend Traci Blackmon from the Black Church PAC, and the amplification of our cause by voices like Ta-Nehisi Coates, signal the building of a coalition that transcends individual battles to redefine the party’s stance on Palestinian human rights.
This coalition — uniting progressives, racial-justice advocates, labor unions, elected officials, Palestinian and Arab organizers, and Jewish organizations — is the blueprint for a new Democratic majority. One that says no more bombs, no more weapons for Israel’s military aggression against Gaza, and no more complicity in the occupation of Palestine. The next few weeks, months, and years, hopefully under a Harris administration, will be about solidifying and expanding this coalition.
It’s clear that the heart of the Democratic Party is with us. It’s time for the leadership to catch up.
Yet this moment is not just about immediate actions; it’s about a long-term strategy. As Bayard Rustin reminded us in his 1965 essay “From Protest to Politics,” political parties are both instruments of change and products of social relations. They can either be paralyzed by reactionaries or transformed by strategic engagement from within. The Uncommitted movement understands that politics is more like chess than boxing. It’s not about quick, reactive blows, but about occupying the center of the board — building influence in key areas of political power and using that influence to shift the party’s trajectory.
Much like Rustin’s critique in 1965, we recognize that the battle is not about changing hearts but about reconstructing the political, social, and economic institutions that mold collective sentiments. Engaging with the wider electorate, where most people connect with politics through voting, transforms our efforts from being minor irritants to major threats. It’s through primary elections that we bring our demands directly to the political class, challenging them to respond. This is how we move from the margins to the center of political discourse, leveraging the power of the vote to enact real change.
This antiwar movement, much like the civil rights movement before it, faces the challenge of out-organizing entrenched forces within the Democratic Party. AIPAC’s influence is deeply rooted, but it is not insurmountable. Just as the Sunrise Movement has taken on Big Oil, and health care advocates have challenged Big Pharma, we must strategically diminish AIPAC’s power to advance our cause. This means not just mobilizing protests, but building the political infrastructure necessary to sustain a battle for influence within the party — a battle that we are already beginning to win — through organized votes, money, and networks of key leaders.
The Uncommitted movement’s success at the DNC is not the end, but the beginning of a larger struggle. It’s a struggle that will require patience, strategy, and unwavering commitment. As Rustin so wisely put it, the difference between expediency and morality in politics is the difference between selling out a principle and making smaller concessions to win larger ones. The Uncommitted movement is here to bend the arc toward justice — not just for Palestinians, but for the broader vision of a Democratic Party that truly represents the values of its base. And I believe, with every action we take, that we’re going to win.
Waleed Shahid is the director of the Bloc and the former spokesperson for Justice Democrats. He has served as a senior adviser for the uncommitted campaign, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Jamaal Bowman.
