Opinion: Here is the Speech that the Uncommitted Movement Was Denied Permission to Present at the DNC

At a convention whose participants emphasized diversity and inclusion, one voice that was noticeably absent was that of Palestinian Americans.  The Uncommitted National Movement, a national grassroots effort that opposed President Biden’s nomination during the primaries in an effort to move the administration toward supporting a ceasefire in Gaza and arms embargo of Israel, was represented at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) by thirty elected delegates, who spent much of the convention engaged in negotiations with the DNC in an effort to get one Palestinian speaker to the podium. In those negotiations Uncommitted agreed that the DNC could approve the speaker and the text of the speech.

Their final proposal was to allow Georgia State Representative and Uncommitted delegate  Ruwa Romman to present a two minute speech.  That request was denied as well.  In the aftermath, many independent media outlets have published the text of that speech.  We follow their lead here.

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.



Read More:
Uncommitted Delegates at the DNC Were Denied a Speaking Slot to Address Conditions in Gaza by Ashley Lopez and Laila Fadel (NPR)

DNC Faces Uproar from Its Own Party After Denying Palestinian Speaker by Hafiz Rashid (New Republic)

Palestine Won at the Democratic Convention by James Zogby (Portside)