Uncommitted holds sit-in outside Democratic convention after Palestinians denied a speaker

A sit-in that began on Wednesday evening in protest of the Democratic convention’s denial of speaking slot for a Palestinian American on the main stage continued on Thursday.

Uncommitted, a national movement that began in Michigan, won 30 delegates to the convention and has tried to use the party process to pressure Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to broker an end to the war in Gaza. The sit-in has been taking place outside the United Center, where Harris will speak this evening, is the latest attempt to get the Democratic party to allow greater prominence for the anti-war movement at this week’s convention in Chicago. Organizers were expected to remain in place until or unless the party changes course.

Abbas Alawieh, a leader of the Uncommitted National Movement and a Michigan delegate, began the impromptu sit-in after the DNC told the group it would not get a speaker.

Related: How the uncommitted movement rocked Biden over Gaza

“We didn’t come here to do a sit-in, we’re just sitting here waiting for a call,” Alawieh said.

Some stayed at the sit-in overnight, sleeping on the pavement outside the United Center. They encouraged supporters to stop by the action.

As the broader party faithful streamed out of the arena cheering and smiling last night, they encountered the sit-in outside the United Center. Some in the movement held banners saying “not another bomb” and “arms embargo now” facing the arena exits.

Layla Elabed, a leader of the Uncommitted National Movement, said having a speaker on the main stage was the “bare minimum”, and far below the policy change uncommitted and anti-war voters want to see from Harris on Gaza.

“This has been an embarrassment for those of us who had faith in the Democratic party that we still had voices here,” Elabed said.

On Wednesday, movement leaders were told they were close to getting a speaker on the stage, Waleed Shahid, an organizer with uncommitted, said at a press conference on Thursday morning. Over the course of last night, party leaders said the uncommitted movement could have meetings with convention and Harris campaign staffers – but did not change their minds on allowing a speaker, Shahid said.

The movement did not intend to disrupt the DNC, but to work with the convention process to elevate the issue and then to mobilize for Harris, he said. “It was just to include Palestinians like any other community,” he said.

The movement has suggested a potential list of Palestinian American speakers, including elected officials, and said their remarks would be pre-approved and vetted by the convention.

Ruwa Romman, a state representative from Georgia who is Palestinian American, was among those the movement suggested. She said on X that her speech “urged us to unite behind Harris, criticized Trump, and spoke about the promise of this moment. The only reason we’re doing this is to save the soul of our party and prevent bad actors from using our pain in an ongoing voter suppression campaign.”

Muslim Women for Harris said in a statement that the group could not continue in good conscience given the denial of a Palestinian voice. “The family of the Israeli hostage that was on the stage tonight has shown more empathy towards Palestinian Americans and Palestinians than our candidate or the DNC has.”

Since the sit-in began, support from progressive elected officials, members of the Democratic party and organizations has poured in. The United Auto Workers said that the DNC must allow a Palestinian American speaker on Thursday, saying: “If we want the war in Gaza to end, we can’t put our heads in the sand or ignore the voices of the Palestinian Americans in the Democratic party.”

Representative Ilhan Omar joined the group on the pavement for a time. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called in via FaceTime to say the request was reasonable and no should not be the final answer. Representative Summer Lee of Pennsylvania also stopped by last night to offer support.

Jewish supporters of the movement have also joined in the call for a Palestinian American speaker. Rabbi Jason Kimelman-Block of Bend the Arc Jewish Action sat with the group for a time. Alana Zeitchik, a family member of several hostages held in Gaza by Hamas, wrote on X that she agreed with the speaker request. “Rachel and Jon deserved every second on that stage. I also believe a Palestinian American voice deserves to be heard on that stage.”

The uncommitted delegates, who represent hundreds of thousands of anti-war protest votes from the primary season, have worked this week to convince Harris delegates to join their cause and sign a petition calling for a ceasefire, dubbing their broader group as “ceasefire delegates”.

They initially asked for Dr Tanya Haj-Hassan, a doctor who worked in Gaza, to speak from the main stage and have now pushed for a Palestinian American to give a speech there. The DNC offered them a panel on the sidelines of the convention, but not a spot on the main stage.

The family of the Israeli American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was kidnapped by Hamas on 7 October, spoke on the stage on Wednesday, which the uncommitted movement supported.

“Uncommitted delegates urge the Democratic party to reject a hierarchy of human value by ensuring Palestinian voices are heard on the main stage. We are learning that Israeli hostages’ families will be speaking from the main stage,” the delegates said in an earlier statement.

“We strongly support that decision and also strongly hope that we will also be hearing from Palestinians who’ve endured the largest civilian death toll since 1948.”