Lots of pictures of the convention and downtown Denver scenes are available here:

http://public.fotki.com/bmonton/dnc-convention/

Brad’s sister Lynne wrote the following to Jessica:

Remember when I left Boulder in July I said the next time I see you it will
be on tv – well I wasn’t lying! There was a quick shot of your face during
Mark Warner’s speech, I was able to rewind my live tv to ensure it was you.
Love your cowgirl hat by the way! Then your money shot came during Hillary
Clinton’s speech. It was as she was concluding that segment on why she ran
and who she ran for, and why did people support her – was it for that marine
etc. – The camera was on Hillary, then it panned to a fabulous close-up shot
of your face, where it almost looked like a tear was glimmering in your eye
- if not you certainly appeared emotionally engaged, and the camera stayed
on you for at least 4 or 5 seconds, then the camera panned to Bill Clinton
looking on with pride. It was such a fabulous shot.

Jessica attended an event today, Thursday, to celebrate the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. Jessica’s grandfather was black, and she heard about the stuggles that he faced in society, especially because he married a white woman. Even though the issue of race isn’t being emphasized at the DNC Convention, Jessica views it as a huge accomplishment for our society that an African-American person has gotten the nomination. 

Before the event started, Jessica talked with some African-Americans from Los Angeles, who said how proud they were of Obama and how far society has come since the MLK speech. Jessica asked them what they thought about the comments of Rev. Jackson Sr. and Rev. Wright — they said that Jackson and Wright are just two individuals who don’t speak for all African-Americans, and they said that Jackson’s and Wright’s egos were perhaps getting in the way. 

At the event, speakers included Angela Bassett, Danny Glover, Martin Luther King III, Carrie Washington, and New York Governor Patterson. Patterson talked a lot about the sacrifices that people made in the civil rights movement so that Obama could be the nominee. A key theme of all the speeches was that Obama’s nomination is a momentous occasion, but this isn’t the end of the movement for racial equality.

When I started out on this journey, I imagined going from event to event on my perfectly planned schedule and ending each day with a full blog report. Unfortunately, it’s been much more difficult to do that then I thought. So, I will do my best to catch up here.

You may have followed it on television tonight; it was quite a show! We did what we came to the convention to do – nominate Barack Obama as our Democratic Nominee for President.

Delegates participated in a day of service today at several different locations throughout the city. I met Watki, a Denver resident and volunteer, and walked to the p://www.denverrescuemission.org/ Their volunteer coordinator gave us a tour and then put us to work preparing a meal for the daily guests. I haven’t really done any volunteer work since I moved to Boulder a couple of years ago, and this experience reminded me both how rewarding and important it can be. It also was a great example of what Obama will bring to our country. Obama cannot put our country back on track by himself; he will need our help.

I attended a luncheon for delegations that met the Green Delegate Challenge. I was hoping to interact with Governor Ritter, but had to leave first. However, I did meet up with a couple of interesting fellows from the Washington Delegation.

Here are some newspaper articles that talk about Jessica:

http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2008/aug/24/bringing-boulder-county-dnc/

http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2008/aug/25/bright-lights-big-room/

http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2008/aug/27/drinks-down-aprons/

http://www.fortcollinsnow.com/article/20080827/NEWS/808279963/1062&ParentProfile=1054

On Monday, Megan Verlee, a reporter from Colorado Public Radio, followed Jessica around all day, recording for a radio piece about Jessica’s experience as a delegate. You can listen to it here:

http://www.kcfr.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=424

At the Unconventional Women symposium on Monday, Speaker Pelosi was introduced and started talking about women in politics. Almost immediately, protesters imbedded in the crowd unfurled a big pink impeach bush banner and some signs against the Iraq war. They began shouting and security was called. The crowd responded with a wave of support for Pelosi by chanting “Nancy” and giving her a standing ovation. The protestors were ushered out by security and a few others who were embedded in the audience were escorted out, one screaming “women don’t torture”.

More reporting on Monday to follow…