CHICAGO — In the weeks leading up to the Democratic National Convention, a surge of enthusiasm for the party’s new ticket of Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota brought fresh energy to their campaign events. Some were set to music by Beyoncé and had attendees dancing in the crowds, giving them a bit of a concert-like feel.
Furthering that association at the convention this week in Chicago were a lively set by DJ Cassidy, which included a surprise appearance by rapper Lil Jon, and friendship bracelets, the summer-camp staples co-opted 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, had friendship bracelets around her wrist. On Tuesday, Kari Breker, a 41-year-old delegate from North Dakota, was wearing a stack of bracelets that she had made with other delegates from her state before the convention. Among their colorful beads were others with letters that spelled: “Kamala,” “North Dakota 4 Harris,” “Kamala 2024,” “we choose freedom” and “we are not going back.”
Breker, who lives in Fargo, North Dakota, was supportive of President Joe Biden’s being at the top of the Democratic ticket, but said she could not see herself or her fellow delegates making friendship bracelets for him. When Harris entered the race after Biden dropped out, “the energy got way higher,” Breker said. Friendship bracelets, she added, tap into “this female power that Taylor Swift brings out in women, that Kamala also is clearly bringing out in women as well, and girls.”
Swift, who supported Biden in the 2020 election, has yet to weigh in on the 2024 race. But hers is among the most coveted celebrity endorsements because of her influence on her followers. Last year, after Swift shared an Instagram post directing people to register to vote via the Vote.org website, the organization said it received more than 35,000 registrations.
Her silence on the presidential race for now has not stopped people on both sides of the aisle from associating her name and image with their campaigns. Earlier this week, former President Donald Trump, Harris’ Republican opponent, promoted images generated by artificial intelligence to falsely suggest that Swift had endorsed him. And a group called Swifties for Kamala has formed to court her fans to support Harris.
A representative for Swift did not respond to a request for comment.
Anderson Clayton, 26, the chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party and the state’s delegation chair at the convention, on Tuesday was wearing friendship bracelets with her name and the word “KHive,” a name for fans of Harris. Clayton, who is from Roxboro, North Carolina, said that while Swift might have inspired renewed interest in the accessories, they’ve since been “taken on by the entire youth generation, whether or not you’re a Taylor Swift fan.”
Several groups had stations at the convention where people could make friendship bracelets. Among them were ActBlue, the Democratic fundraising organization; NextGen America, a youth-focused progressive group, which brought some 89,000 beads to the convention; and Voters of Tomorrow, an left-leaning group that focuses on reaching out to members of Generation Z, the cohort that includes the youngest voters.
Bayly Hoehne, 16, a high-school student from Connecticut and the chief of staff at Voters of Tomorrow, said that she had noticed an overlap in enthusiasm for Swift and Harris among Gen Zers, including some, like her, who are not yet eligible to vote. She had flown to Chicago for the convention from London, where she had attended a concert on the European leg of Swift’s Eras tour.
“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 very big part of that.”
Other companies, like Social Currant, which facilitates relationships between advocacy groups and creators on social media, were giving out friendship bracelets to convention attendees. Social Currant’s versions included phrases like “save democracy” and “balls to the Walz.”
Vidyut Ghuwalewala, 23, a founder of the company, said the bracelets’ shareable nature made them an effective message-spreading tool. “The whole goal is that you take two: You give one to a friend, and you keep one,” he said.
The nostalgia friendship bracelets can evoke helped to broaden their appeal among Swift’s fans: At her concerts, the bracelets could be spotted on adults and children alike. Sari Beth Rosenberg, 49, a high-school teacher in New York City, and a senior adviser at Voters of Tomorrow, thought the bracelets resonated at the convention for similar reasons.
“I’ve seen here at the convention, young people and older people sitting together, making friendship bracelets together,” Rosenberg said.
This Democratic convention was the fifth that Kelly Jacobs, a 65-year-old delegate from Mississippi, attended, and she said each has had its own sartorial signifiers. Others this year have included camouflage baseball caps, blue manicures and “Kamala” buttons with the same acid-green shade and typography used in artwork for singer Charli XCX’s “Brat” album.
Jacobs, who lives in San Hernando, Mississippi, said that at the first Democratic convention she attended, in Boston in 2004, “all the delegates brought buttons, and I wore a coat that clattered when I walked with the buttons, and I exchanged my Mississippi buttons with all the other states.”
This year, she has swapped the buttons for friendship bracelets. She brought 1,000 with her to Chicago and, on Tuesday, she was wearing them around her ankles as well as her wrists. She was also wearing a smock plastered with images of Swift and 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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