Oprah Winfrey surprised the crowd on Wednesday evening at Democratic National Convention 2024 and delivered a energetic 15-minute speech She showed her support for Vice President Kamala Harris as the next president and encouraged Americans to vote in November. She said she was honored to be asked to speak on the evening’s theme: freedom.
At the beginning of her remarks, Winfrey referred to the words of late Congressman John Lewis“No matter what ship our ancestors arrived on, we are all in the same boat today.”
She told the story of civil rights pioneers Ruby Bridges, Leona Tate, Gail Etienne and Tessie Prevost Williams, known as “New Orleans Four”, who helped desegregate schools and break down barriers in New Orleans.
In her speech, Winfrey also attacked former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance. She called Vance’s 2021 “Childless Cat Ladies” Comment.
“But we’ve been through ridiculous tweets, lies and silliness. We live in complicated times, folks. And they require adult conversations. And I welcome those conversations, because civilized debate is essential to democracy and the best thing about America,” Winfrey said.
Read a full transcript of Winfrey’s 2024 DNC remarks below.
Good evening everyone! Who says you can’t go home?
After seeing the Obamas last night, that was an epic fire, wasn’t it? An epic fire. We’re so excited now that we can’t wait to get out of here and do something! And what we’re going to do is elect Kamala Harris as the next President of the United States.
I am so honored to have been asked to speak on the theme of this evening: what matters most to me, to you, and to all of us Americans: freedom.
There are people who want you to see our country as a nation where we fight against them. People who want to scare you, who want to control you, people who want you to believe that books are dangerous and assault rifles are safe. That there is a right way to pray and a wrong way to love. People who want to divide and conquer later. But that’s the way it is: When we stand together, it is impossible to conquer us.
In the words of an extraordinary American, the late Congressman John Lewis. He said, no matter what ship our forefathers arrived on, we are all in the same boat today. Congressman Lewis knew very well how far this country has come, for he was one of the brilliant Americans who got us where we are today. But he also knew that the work is not done. The work will never be done, for freedom is not free. America is an ongoing project. It requires commitment. It requires being open to the hard work and heart labor of democracy. And every now and then, it requires standing up to the tyrants of life. I know this. I have lived in Mississippi, in Tennessee, in Wisconsin, Maryland, Indiana, Florida, Hawaii, Colorado, California, and — and my sweet home of Chicago, Illinois!
I have actually traveled all over this country, from the redwood forests – I love those redwoods – to the waters of the Gulf Stream. I have seen racism and sexism and income inequality and division. I have not only seen that. Sometimes I have suffered. But mostly I have seen and experienced people, both conservative and liberal, who may not agree with you but would still help you in a heartbeat if you were in trouble. These are the people who make me proud to say I am an American. They are the best of America. And despite what some would have you believe, we are not so different from our neighbors. When a house is on fire, we do not ask about the race or religion of the homeowner. We do not ask who his partner is or how he voted. No! We just try to do our best to save him. And if the house happens to belong to a childless cat lady… well, we try to get that cat out, too.
Because we are a country where people work hard for their money. We wish our brothers and sisters well and pray for peace. We know all the old tricks and cliches designed to distract us from what really matters. But we are beyond ridiculous tweets, lies and silliness. We live in complicated times, folks. And they require adult conversation. And I welcome those conversations, because civil debate is essential to democracy and the best thing about America.
Over the last few nights, we’ve all seen brave people on this stage sharing their deepest pain with us. Amanda and Josh, Caitlin, Hadley. They told us their stories of rape and incest and near-death experiences because the state denied them the abortion their doctor said was medically necessary. And they told us these things for one reason: to prevent what happened to them from happening to anyone else. Because if you don’t have autonomy over it, if you can’t control when and how you bring your children into the world and how they are raised and supported, there is no American dream. The women and men fighting to keep us from falling back into a time of despair and shame and stone-cold fear are the new freedom fighters. And make no mistake, they are America’s finest.
I want to talk now about someone who is not with us tonight: Tessie Prevost Williams. She was born in New Orleans, shortly after the Supreme Court ruled that segregation in schools was unconstitutional. That was 1954, the same year I was. But I didn’t have to go to the first grade of the all-white McDonogh 19 School like Tessie did, with a U.S. Marshal by my side. When I started school, the building was not empty, as it was for Tessie. Parents pulled their children from school, and that left just Tessie and two other black girls in the classroom, the windows taped shut to keep snipers from targeting their 6-year-old bodies.
Tessie died six weeks ago. I tell this story tonight to honor her. She, like Ruby Bridges and her friends Leona and Gail, the “New Orleans Four,” as they were called. They broke barriers and paid dearly for it. But it was the grace, courage and bravery of women like Tessie Prevost Williams that paved the way for another girl who, nine years later, was accepted into the public schools in Berkeley, California, as a second grader.
And I feel like someone at school and at home has done a wonderful job of showing this young girl how to challenge the people at the top and empower the people at the bottom. She’s been shown how to look at the world and see not just what is, but what can be. She’s been instilled with a passion for justice and freedom and the great fighting spirit that it takes to pursue that passion.
And soon, and very soon. Soon, and very soon, we will teach our daughters and sons how this child of an Indian mother and a Jamaican father, two idealistic, energetic immigrants, grew up to become the 47th President of the United States! That’s the best thing about America!
You know, you know. Let me tell you this. This election is not about us and them. It’s about you and me. And what we want our future to look like. When we cast our vote, we have choices to make. Well, there’s a certain candidate who says if we just vote this one time, we’ll never have to do this again. Well, you know what? You see a registered independent who is proud to vote over and over again because I’m an American and that’s what Americans do.
Voting is the best thing about America. And I have always voted according to my values since I was able to vote. And that is what is needed in this election now more than ever.
So I appeal to all independents and undecideds. You know that’s true. You know I’m telling you the truth, that values and character matter most. In leadership and in life. And most of all, you know that’s true, that decency and respect are on the ballot in 2024. And plain and simple common sense. Common sense tells you that Kamala Harris and Tim Walz can give us decency and respect. They’re the ones who give it to us.
So we are Americans. We are Americans. Let us choose loyalty to the Constitution over loyalty to an individual. For that is the best thing about America. And let us choose optimism over cynicism, for that is the best thing about America. And let us choose inclusion over retribution. Let us choose common sense over nonsense. For that is the best thing about America. And let us choose the sweet promise of tomorrow over the bitter return to yesterday. We will not go back. We will not be thrown back, pushed back, intimidated, pushed back. We are not going back. We are not going back. We are not going back.
So let’s vote, let’s choose truth. Let’s choose honor. And let’s choose joy! Because that’s the best thing about America. But more than anything, let’s choose freedom. Why? Because that’s the best thing about America. We’re all Americans. And let’s all vote for Kamala Harris together!
Thank you, Chicago!
