Politics / Photo Essay / August 23, 2024

Images From Inside (and Outside) the DNC

Here’s a look at this week’s 2024 Democratic National Convention.

Photos by Susan Meiselas

Long after the pageantry and the speeches at this week’s Democratic National Convention are forgotten, the images will linger. A beaming Kamala Harris capping her whirlwind journey to the top of the presidential ticket. Tim Walz’s son, Gus, unabashedly weeping with pride. The activists in the streets and on the floor, refusing to let Gaza be erased from the agenda.

This was a historic convention, one that saw every kind of emotion—jubilation, pride, defiance, heartbreak, and hope—flicker across its landscape. To capture this year’s DNC in all its complexity, we turned to renowned photographer Susan Meiselas, who was in Chicago all week. These are just a few of the many indelible images she brought back.

Chicago, August 19, 2024. Democratic National Convention.(Susan Meiselas / Magnum Photos)

To love this country is to fight for its people—all people, working people, everyday Americans like bartenders and factory workers and fast-food cashiers who punch a clock and are on their feet all day in some of the toughest jobs out there.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Chicago, August 19, 2024. Democratic National Convention.(Susan Meiselas / Magnum Photos)

So no matter what the polls say, we can’t let up. We can’t get driven down crazy conspiracy rabbit holes. We have to fight for the truth. We have to fight for Kamala as she will fight for us.

Hillary Clinton
Chicago, August 19, 2024. Democratic National Convention. Protesters marched toward the site of the Democratic National Convention on its opening day Monday to voice their opposition to the war in Gaza.(Susan Meiselas / Magnum Photos)

You’ve heard me say it before, we’re facing an inflection point, one of those rare moments in history when the decisions we make now will determine the fate of our nation and the world for decades to come.

Joe Biden

For years, Donald Trump did everything in his power to try to make people fear us, his limited, narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hardworking, highly educated, successful people who happen to be Black. Who’s going to tell him that the job he’s currently seeking might just be one of those “Black jobs”?

Michelle Obama
Chicago, August 19, 2024. President Joe Biden’s speaking in support of Vice President Kamala Harris’s candidacy for president during the first day of the Democratic National Convention.(Susan Meiselas / Magnum Photos)

History will remember Joe Biden as an outstanding president who defended democracy at a moment of great danger. Thank you, Joe.

Barack Obama
Chicago. August 20, 2024. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaking during the second day of the Democratic National Convention.(Susan Meiselas / Magnum Photos)
Kelly Jacobs, a delegate from Mississippi, at DemPalooza, held at McCormick Place during the Democratic National Convention.
Delegates enter United Center while passing by both pro-Israel and pro-Palestine protesters.(Susan Meiselas / Magnum Photos)
(Susan Meiselas / Magnum Photos)
Vice President and now officially the Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris gives her acceptance speech on the final day of the Democratic National Convention.(Susan Meiselas / Magnum Photos)

An urgent message from the Editors

As the editors of The Nation, it’s not usually our role to fundraise. Today, however, we’re putting out a special appeal to our readers, because there are only hours left in 2025 and we’re still $20,000 away from our goal of $75,000. We need you to help close this gap. 

Your gift to The Nation directly supports the rigorous, confrontational, and truly independent journalism that our country desperately needs in these dark times.

2025 was a terrible year for press freedom in the United States. Trump launched personal attack after personal attack against journalists, newspapers, and broadcasters across the country, including multiple billion-dollar lawsuits. The White House even created a government website to name and shame outlets that report on the administration with anti-Trump bias—an exercise in pure intimidation.

The Nation will never give in to these threats and will never be silenced. In fact, we’re ramping up for a year of even more urgent and powerful dissent. 

With the 2026 elections on the horizon, and knowing Trump’s history of false claims of fraud when he loses, we’re going to be working overtime with writers like Elie Mystal, John Nichols, Joan Walsh, Jeet Heer, Kali Holloway, Katha Pollitt, and Chris Lehmann to cut through the right’s spin, lies, and cover-ups as the year develops.

If you donate before midnight, your gift will be matched dollar for dollar by a generous donor. We hope you’ll make our work possible with a donation. Please, don’t wait any longer.

In solidarity,

The Nation Editors

Susan Meiselas

Susan Meiselas is a documentary photographer based in New York and a member of the cooperative Magnum Photos. She is the author of Carnival Strippers (1976), Nicaragua (1981), Kurdistan: In the Shadow of History (1997), Pandora’s Box (2001), Encounters with the Dani (2003) Prince Street Girls (2016), A Room of Their Own (2017), Tar Beach (2020), and Carnival Strippers Revisited (2022).

More from The Nation

Biden

Biden Biden

It’s all his fault!

OppArt / Rob Rogers

Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani celebrates with Senator Bernie Sanders during an election rally with Sanders and US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at Forest Hills Stadium on October 26, 2025, in Queens, New York.

Zohran Mamdani on Welcoming Bernie Sanders for a “Bread and Roses” Inaugural Celebration Zohran Mamdani on Welcoming Bernie Sanders for a “Bread and Roses” Inaugural Celebration

In an exclusive interview with The Nation, the incoming democratic socialist mayor discusses making New York a “showcase of light” through the political darkness.

John Nichols

Stephen Miller’s Monstrous Tentacles

Stephen Miller’s Monstrous Tentacles Stephen Miller’s Monstrous Tentacles

The driving force behind Trump’s illegal immigration actions.

OppArt / Matt Mahurin

Staining the Labels of History

Staining the Labels of History Staining the Labels of History

The Kennedy Center Board of Trustees voted to rename the institution The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.

OppArt / Felipe Galindo

The Story of the Year

The Story of the Year The Story of the Year

How did we allow this to happen?

Steve Brodner

A Movement-Building Strategy for All Workers

A Movement-Building Strategy for All Workers A Movement-Building Strategy for All Workers

Why we need a freedom agenda.

Peter Olney and David Bacon