DNC 2024 Day 1 live updates: Biden lays out choice to 'save democracy' with Harris

"I hope you know how grateful I am to all of you," Biden said.

Last Updated: August 20, 2024, 12:32 AM EDT

Democrats kicked off their convention Monday with a who's who of guests who all touted Vice President Kamala Harris' run for the White House.

Several topics came up during the night including the future of reproductive rights and Project 2025.

Harris made a surprise appearance after several Democratic VIPS took the stage, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

The main stars of the night were some of the Democrats' longstanding figures including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

But the main spotlight came as President Joe Biden spoke to the cheering crowd, reflecting on his four years as president and his decision to "pass the torch" to Harris.

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Here's how the news is developing:
Aug 19, 2024, 7:36 PM EDT

Walz confirmed as Democratic vice presidential nominee

Gov. Tim Walz was ceremonially confirmed as the Democratic vice presidential nominee during a voice vote.

"USA" chants broke out again in the stadium after the vote.

Walz will deliver his acceptance speech on Wednesday at the DNC.

Aug 19, 2024, 7:32 PM EDT

Delegates adopt party platform, 'USA' chants break out

Democratic National Committee delegates passed the party’s 2024 platform in a voice vote.

A full, 92-page draft platform was unveiled by the party late on Sunday night. The document, which was written before President Joe Biden left the 2024 race, was voted upon by the DNC's Rules Committee in July. It was not updated significantly since Harris replaced him at the top of the ticket.

"USA" chants broke out in the stadium after the platform was adopted.

Aug 19, 2024, 7:31 PM EDT

Rep. Maxine Waters remembers Fannie Lou Hamer

During her remarks, California Rep. Maxine Waters reflected on a Democratic National Convention she attended when she was 22, when civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer "made her presence known" as vice-chair of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party.

"It was in 1964, in Atlantic City, and she arrived with a group of Black delegates from Mississippi," Waters said of Hamer. "She simply asked that her delegates be seated in place of the state's all-white delegation."

PHOTO: Representative Maxine Waters  gestures at the United Center, on Day one of the Democratic National Convention  in Chicago Aug. 19, 2024.
Representative Maxine Waters gestures at the United Center, on Day one of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago Aug. 19, 2024.
Mike Segar/Reuters

Waters said that Hamer, after talking about the "violence she suffered at the hands of white police because she, a Black woman, had demanded her right to vote," then asked the country a "simple but profound question: Is this America?"

Decades later, with Harris as the party's nominee, Waters said she will be thinking about Hamer in November after Americans elect Harris as their president.

"We can ask ourselves, 'Is this America?' And we will be able to say loudly and proudly, 'You're damn right it is!'" Waters said.

Aug 19, 2024, 7:29 PM EDT

NAACP president: 'I'm here to do my Black job'

Before paying tribute to Black political trailblazers, NAACP President Derrick Johnson took an apparent jab at former President Donald Trump.

Johnson introduced himself saying, "Good evening, I'm Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP, and I'm here to do my Black job."

"We must all understand Black history is American history, and in this historic moment, we will write the next chapter together," he said.

(Trump, while speaking at the National Association of Black Journalists annual convention in July, again tried to claim that migrants are taking "Black jobs" -- comments he has faced backlash over.)

Derrick Johnson (L), President and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), speaks on the first day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Aug. 19, 2024.
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images