Bernie Sanders to give opening night speech at Women’s Convention

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) will give an opening night speech next month to the Women’s Convention, an event organized by the activists who set up the Women’s March on Washington the day after President Trump’s inauguration.

The three-day convention in Detroit is expected to attract more than 3,000 people, according to the Detroit Free Press.

One of the organizers, Tamika Mallory, told the Detroit Free Press that Sanders is the right choice because he is in line with the principles of the Women’s March.

“I think that right now, no one can deny that Bernie Sanders is probably one of the most powerful U.S. senators … on progressive issues, women’s issues, mobilizing millennials,” Mallory said.

{mosads}Hundreds of thousands of people took part in the Women’s March the day after the inauguration.

Many of the women taking part in that event wore t-shirts or held signs making reference to the 2016 presidential race won by Trump over Hillary Clinton, who at one point was called a “nasty woman” by her GOP opponent.

Clinton was the first woman to become a major party’s presidential nominee, and she is also the first woman to win the popular vote in a presidential election in the United States. Clinton defeated Sanders in a tough primary to become the Democratic nominee. 

Mallory said that the convention will focus on the 2018 election and how to “build political power,” especially among progressive activists and marginalized groups.

“People want to hear from the leadership from within our government who can give us some insight about what’s happening,” Mallory told the Free Press. “So we can know what we need to do to be able [to] organize.”

Other speakers at the convention include actress Piper Perabo, transgender Latina activist Liliana Reyes, Michigan Democratic candidate for governor Gretchen Whitmer and several other activists and politicians.