CHICAGO As the sun went down on Thursday and the sprawling stadium behind her filled with thousands of people gathered for the final night of the Democratic National Convention, Georgia state Rep. Ruwa Romman stood on a sidewalk and spoke to a few dozen supporters and journalists about her inspiration from 60 years ago.

Theyll say this is how its always been, that nothing can change. But remember Fannie Lou Hamer, Roman said, referring to the civil rights activist who famously challenged the 1964 DNC. Shunned for her courage She paved the way for an integrated Democratic Party. Her legacy lives on, and its her example we follow.

This historic moment is full of promise, but only if we stand together. Our partys greatest strength has always been our ability to unite, Romman continued. Lets fight for the policies long overdue from restoring access to abortions to ensuring a living wage, to demanding an end to reckless war and a cease-fire in Gaza.

A coalition of antiwar DNC delegates, Democratic lawmakers and progressive groups had hoped she would deliver those words from the conventions main stage. The alliance had sought speaking time during the convention for a Palestinian American who could highlight their views on the war in Gaza. But on Wednesday, Democratic Party officials said no. And they stood by that decision, even after an all-night sit-in and even as public pressure mounted on Thursday.

On its face, the DNCs denial was a defeat for the national movement that opposes President Joe Bidens policy of overwhelming support for Israels deadly offensive in Gaza and wants the partys presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, to change course.

Yet many antiwar voices are citing Hamer to argue they are playing a long game that will eventually produce a more balanced U.S. approach toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Its a shout-out to a time when activists channeled popular frustration into progress within Democratic politics the stated goal of most who challenged Gaza policy at the DNC rather than other years, like 1968, which saw mass disruptions over the Vietnam war.

In 1964, Hamer led a group of her fellow Mississippians in a delegation to that years Democratic convention. They tried to convince the DNCs credentials committee to replace the all-white delegation selected by Mississippis Democratic establishment, which was run by segregationists with their multiracial slate.

In a televised session, Hamer told the committee how Mississippis leaders had violently blocked the Black population from registering to vote. The states official DNC delegation lacked legitimacy, she argued, and the national Democratic leadership should instead seat her group, members of the Mississippi Democratic Freedom Party.

Top Democrats were stubborn. Then-President Lyndon B. Johnson scheduled a press conference to distract attention from Hamers testimony. She and her party were treated as reckless, as too angry, as overplaying their hand, Jeanne Theoharis, a civil rights historian at Brooklyn College, told the progressive outlet Truthout .

Democratic leaders ultimately offered a compromise: two delegate seats for Hamers group and no racial discrimination at conventions moving forward. We didnt come all this way for no two seats, Hamer declared in response.

While Hamers plea failed, she succeeded in imprinting on the American consciousness a vivid image of the viciousness of white Southern racism, Jill Watts, a professor at California State University San Marcos, wrote in The New York Times. That made Hamers activism more successful in the following years.

Advocates for greater concern for Palestinians say they will emulate that example.

Hamers party showed how inside/outside grassroots organizing can challenge entrenched systems, even without immediate wins, Waleed Shahid, a spokesperson for the Uncommitted coalition of Democratic primary voters who refused to support Biden over his Gaza policy, argued on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday.