#BlackGirlMagic At The DNC: New York Times Security Guard Kicks Off Joe Biden Nomination Process
When Demoratic presidential nominee Joe Biden visited The New York Times last December to seek its endorsement, one part of that stop stood out: security guard Jacquelyn Brittany.
Brittany said “I love you” to the presidential candidate from Delaware and took a selfie with him while they talked about issues. And because of the bond created in one elevator ride, the Democratic National Convention tapped Brittany to open up the presidential nomination process on Tuesday night.
Biden, vice president for eight years under President Barack Obama, shared a 49-second video of Brittany’s mini speech from his Twitter account on Tuesday. Brittany, became the first person to formally nominate Biden as the Democratic presidential candidate.
“I take powerful people up on my elevator all the time,” Brittany, 31, said in the video. “When they get off, they go to their important meetings … But in the short time I spent with Joe Biden, I could tell he really saw me, that he actually cared that my life meant something to him and I knew, even when he went into that important meeting he’d take my story in there with him. That’s because Joe Biden has room in his heart for more than just himself.”
Brittany continued, “We've been through a lot and we have tough days ahead, but nominating someone like that to be in the White House is a good place to start. That’s why I nominate my friend, Joe Biden, as the next President of the United States.”
In sharing the video of Brittany, Biden tweeted: “Jacquelyn, your nomination means the world to me. Thank you — and I hope you know, we love you back.”
Brittany’s comments were highlighted during night two of the four-night virtual convention taking place during the coronavirus pandemic. The Party conventions are where the major political parties formally nominate their candidate for the White House. This year marks the first time the event has not taken place in-person.
After Brittany unveiled her brand of #BlackGirlMagic, Twitter went crazy embracing the fact that Biden chose to highlight someone outside of the political establishment to open up Tuesday’s proceedings.
“Jacquelyn should have a seat on the platform when you’re sworn in as president,” tweeted Susan Banovets.
Tweeted Tamara Cofman Nasty Wittes, “Jacquelyn Brittany for NYC Mayor.”
Chris Jackson tweeted, “OK I love Jacquelyn Brittany. The New York Times doesn’t deserve her.”
A mystery person, perhaps Brittany herself, even created a @Jacquelyn2020 Twitter account that had nearly 15,000 followers as of Wednesday morning. “My story is far from over. I choose doing what’s right over politics,” the profile read.
Brittany told the Washington Post that Biden’s life story and the way he has coped with tragic losses -- first of his first wife and daughter to a car accident in 1972 and then the loss of his son Beau Biden to brain cancer in 2015 -- have inspired her.
“I just like Joe,” she said. “I’ve always liked him.”
For even more highlights from BET's covergae of Tuesday night’s official 2020 Democratic National Convention, click here.
