Other speakers Monday night will include Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), first lady Michelle Obama and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) will be this year's keynote speaker Monday night at the Democratic National Convention.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) will be this year's keynote speaker Monday night at the Democratic National Convention.
Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty Images

PHILADELPHIA ― Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is this year’s keynote speaker at the Democratic National Convention, with a high-profile spot in front of a national audience going to one of the party’s top progressive voices.

Warren is slated to take the stage Monday night, where the theme will be putting families first and highlighting Hillary Clinton’s lifelong work, according to a Clinton campaign official.

The other speakers, beginning in the 9 p.m. hour, will include Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), first lady Michelle Obama and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).

Warren is just the third woman to deliver the keynote address at a Democratic convention. Rep. Barbara Jordan (D-Texas) first had that honor in 1976, and Ann Richards, when she was Texas state treasurer, had it in 1988. Richards ― who later became governor of her state ― addressed how few women there had been in one of her most famous lines:

I am delighted to be here with you this evening, because after listening to George Bush all these years, I figured you needed to know what a real Texas accent sounds like. Twelve years ago Barbara Jordan ― another Texas woman ― Barbara made the keynote address to this convention, and two women in 160 years is about par for the course.

But if you give us a chance, we can perform. After all, Ginger Rogers did everything that Fred Astaire did. She just did it backwards and in high heels.

Warren stayed neutral during the Democratic primary and endorsed Clinton on June 9. She was a progressive favorite to be Clinton’s running mate.

Read more about the history of women at Democratic conventions here, and watch a video on the story behind Richards’ speech:


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