Sanders delegate compares DNC walkout to the March on Washington

(Image credit: AFP/Getty Images)

published 27 July 2016

A group of Bernie Sanders supporters who felt their voices weren't being heard at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday decided to walk out, a move one organizer compared to the 250,000-person strong 1963 political rally that culminated in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivering his iconic "I Have a Dream" speech.

"The March on Washington was an example of a movement at a high point, and I'd say this is one of those," Shyla Nelson, a Sanders delegate from Vermont, told BuzzFeed News. Nelson said the supporters decided to leave the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia during the middle of roll call, as it became increasingly clear that Sanders did not have enough votes to win the Democratic nomination. The delegates chanted "Walk out!" and "This is what democracy looks like!" as they made their way off the floor, with some starting a sit-in in the media area and others putting tape over their mouths.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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