On the Streets of Philadelphia

Christine Brown, Up to Us caravan: “The first time I really sat and listened to Bernie Sanders, I saw this ethical man. I wanted whatever he had, in me. I guess I’ll never get there, because he’s been operating from an ethical place for a long time, and I have a lot of flaws. But I think one of my biggest flaws is not doing things that are helpful to the community. So that’s what Bernie gave me: getting off my butt and trying to effect a change for the better.”

Kevin Decker, Up to Us caravan: “I’m here to spread love among the people and support my brothers and sisters, in healing and in health and in connection and in community. [We need] to get our act together and support each other and love each other, and peace and love is the answer. Bernie’s a great guy. But it’s up to us.”

Hannah Buchheit, Up to Us Caravan (St. Louis, Missouri): “We have to rebuild and rewire our own brains to thinking for the betterment of the people. It’s not about us anymore, it’s not about your own self, your own money, and your wealth. It’s about everyone else’s wealth and how we can give back to society. I’m not really a political person, but ever since Bernie has been in my life, nothing but good has come.”

Naima Grossmann: “This is my neighborhood, and this is a pretty historic event. How often does the DNC come, how often do we have Hollywood people in Germantown? I’m definitely on the liberal side of things. But I’m not a hardcore anything. I’ve heard a lot of not-so-nice things about Trump. I’m optimistic that things won’t go in that direction if everybody comes out and votes. I liked Bernie a lot, but I’ll probably vote for Hillary. Actually, no, I will vote for Hillary. Bernie would have been my first choice, but I knew he had a difficult road.”

Zandra Price: “I am extremely committed to Bernie. For the first time in my life there’s a candidate who says the things that I believe. And that’s amazing. I’ve been a socialist all my life. I was a registered socialist in the 1950s. I just believe in socialism and equality, and I’m very antiwar—it all fits together: war, environmental destruction, inequality. I was arrested a couple of times at demonstrations in the past, and I’d be arrested in support of the things that Bernie stands for—they’re that important.”

Alfred Price: “In the end, climate change is an existential problem. And we’ve faced existential problems before as a society. Money doesn’t matter then. It didn’t matter during the Depression, when we solved the Dust Bowl and limited the work week to 40 hours or created social security. These came out of the Depression, when there was no money. Climate is the be-all, end-all issue, as far as I’m concerned. I have my doubts that either one of the parties will do anything. I don’t believe in giving up, but I’m not optimistic.”

Nihal Dennis, Navy Veteran, Progressive Veterans: “I’m here to pray that we can unite as a party and see the bigger progressive movement that’s happening. Both Democratic candidates are vastly dynamic, vastly different. However each one holds a vital part to the progressive movement. Hopefully, at this DNC we can find out what the end goal of the progressive movement is, and how we can work to find solutions to reach that goal. The progressive movement is large, it’s wide, and it’s very diverse. As diverse as the issues that the progressive movement embodies.”

Gabrielle Yareahk, with daughter Iam, Grateful-for-Grace caravan: “I work with the Grateful-for-Grace caravan. We travel America with 25 people and we help build sustainable systems for eco-villages, community housing, for people in need. And we also create people’s projects in inner cities to help bring joy, love, and sustainability into a world that really needs it. This is my life. I bring people with me for three months during the summer. But during the off-season, I live in several intentional communities. I like the idea that humans are innately good if presented with the opportunity, though I think the whole system is corrupt. But I’m still going to vote.”