CHICAGO — In the weeks leading up to the Democratic National Convention, renewed enthusiasm for the party’s new ticket of Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz brought new energy to their campaign events. Some were set to music by Beyoncé and had attendees dancing in the crowd, giving them a concert-like atmosphere.
That association was reinforced at this week’s convention in Chicago by a rousing set from DJ Cassidy, with a surprise appearance from rapper Lil Jon, and by friendship bracelets, the summer camp staples adopted by Taylor Swift fans. The accessories have taken on new meaning for many Democratic Party supporters, who see them as a way to build community.
On Wednesday, the day Walz delivered his prime-time speech, his 23-year-old daughter, Hope, wore friendship bracelets around her wrist. On Tuesday, Kari Breker, a 41-year-old delegate from North Dakota, wore a stack of bracelets she and other delegates from her state had made before the convention. Among their colorful beads, others bore letters that spelled out: “Kamala,” “North Dakota for Harris,” “Kamala 2024,” “We Choose Freedom” and “We’re Not Turning Back.”
Breker, who lives in Fargo, North Dakota, supported Joe Biden’s Democratic presidential bid but said she didn’t see herself or her fellow delegates making friendship bracelets for him. When Harris entered the race after Biden withdrew, “the energy got a lot stronger,” Breker said. The friendship bracelets, she added, tap into “that girl power that Taylor Swift brings out in women, that Kamala definitely brings out in women and girls.”
Swift, who endorsed Biden in the 2020 election, has yet to weigh in on the 2024 race. But her endorsement is one of the most coveted among celebrities because of its influence on her followers. Last year, after Swift shared an Instagram post urging people to register to vote through the website Vote.org, the organization said it received more than 35,000 registrations.
Her silence on the presidential race hasn’t stopped both sides from associating her name and image with their campaigns. Earlier this week, former President Donald Trump, Kamala’s Republican opponent, promoted AI-generated images to falsely suggest that Swift had endorsed him. And a group called Swifties for Kamala has formed to urge its fans to support Kamala.
A representative for Swift did not respond to a request for comment.
Anderson Clayton, 26, chairman of the North Carolina Democratic Party and chairman of the state’s delegation to the convention, wore friendship bracelets Tuesday with his name and the word “KHive,” a name for Harris fans. Clayton, a native of Roxboro, N.C., said that while Swift may have sparked a resurgence in interest in the accessories, they have since been “embraced by the whole younger generation, whether you’re a Taylor Swift fan or not.”
Several groups held workshops at the convention where people could make friendship bracelets. Among them were ActBlue, the Democratic Party’s fundraising organization; NextGen America, a progressive youth-focused group that brought some 89,000 beads to the convention; and Voters of Tomorrow, a left-leaning group that works to reach members of Generation Z, the cohort that includes the youngest voters.
Bayly Hoehne, 16, a Connecticut high school senior and chief of staff for Voters of Tomorrow, said she’s noticed a shared enthusiasm for Swift and Harris among Gen Zers, including some, like herself, who aren’t yet eligible to vote. She traveled to Chicago for the convention from London, where she had attended a concert on Swift’s European tour, Eras.
“There’s the Swiftie community,” she said, “but I also think there’s the community that’s really excited to elect Kamala Harris, Gen Z being a huge part of that.”
Other companies, like Social Currant, which facilitates connections between advocacy groups and creators on social media, have handed out friendship bracelets to convention attendees. Social Currant’s versions included phrases like “save democracy” and “dance the waltz.”
Vidyut Ghuwalewala, 23, the company’s founder, says the shareability of the bracelets makes them an effective tool for spreading messages. “The idea is that you take two: you give one to a friend and you keep the other one,” he says.
The nostalgia that friendship bracelets can evoke helped broaden their appeal among Swift fans: At her concerts, the bracelets were seen on adults and children alike. Sari Beth Rosenberg, 49, a New York City high school teacher and senior adviser to Voters of Tomorrow, believes the bracelets resonated similarly at the convention.
“I saw here at the convention young people and old people sitting together, making friendship bracelets together,” Rosenberg said.
This was the fifth Democratic convention attended by Kelly Jacobs, a 65-year-old delegate from Mississippi, and she said each had its own sartorial cues. Others this year included camouflage baseball caps, blue manicures and “Kamala” buttons in the same acid green hue and typography used on the cover of singer Charli XCX’s “Brat” album.
Jacobs, who lives in San Hernando, Miss., said that at the first Democratic convention she attended, in Boston in 2004, “all the delegates brought buttons, and I wore a coat that made noise when I walked with the buttons, and I traded my Mississippi buttons with all the other states.”
This year, she traded the buttons for friendship bracelets. She brought 1,000 of them with her to Chicago and on Tuesday, she wore them around her ankles as well as her wrists. She also wore a blouse decorated with images of Swift and a hat with images of the singer and her boyfriend, NFL star Travis Kelce.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
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