Instead of the traditional roll call nominating their candidate, the delegates at the 2020 Democratic National Convention announced their votes in their home state or territory, standing in scenic or appropriate settings — from the Alabama delegate in front of the Edmund Pettus Bridge to honor the memory of the late civil rights leader and Congressman John Lewis who was beaten up on that bridge, to the delegate representing the millions of Democrats Abroad in front of an unnamed ancient bridge obviously somewhere in Europe; from a cattle ranch in Montana to a commuter train station in Delaware named after nominee Joe Biden. Tropical beaches and urban skylines, green forests and red firehouses, vivid street murals and quiet studies; from California to the New York Island: The backdrops offered a mosaic view of America that was a touch surreal but also movingly recalled Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land” and “America The Beautiful” (Video below)
This land is your land, this land is my land
From California to the New York island,
From the redwood forest to the Gulf Stream waters;
This land was made for you and me.
As I was walking that ribbon of highway
I saw above me that endless skyway;
I saw below me that golden valley;
This land was made for you and me.
—
O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
Two minute sample:
Below is the full two-hour video of Day 2 of the convention. The roll call begins at around 1:01:28, and lasts a little more than half an hour.
