Delaware Native To Be First Openly Transgender Speaker At National Convention
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – History is being made, again, at the Democratic National Convention.
Wilmington's own Sarah McBride will make history Thursday, as the first openly transgender person to speak at a major party convention.
"I'm getting a little bit nervous, but more than anything else, I'm honored to have this opportunity," she said.
McBride, national press secretary for the Human Rights Campaign, said she's fortunate to have a strong support system. But she'll speak on behalf of the millions of LGBTQ people who do not.
"I think about a transgender person in North Carolina, or in Texas or in North Dakota, who's struggling with the question of whether this country has a place for them too," she said.
She had just a week to craft a speech that she hopes will both educate and inspire.
"If my speech can open just a few hearts and minds, and if it can provide just a little bit of comfort to anyone who's struggling, that will be a success," she said.
Twenty-seven Democratic delegates attending the convention are openly transgender, up from 14 in 2012, according to Out.com.
Democrats are calling the 2016 DNC the most inclusive political convention yet, with a record number of LGBTQ delegates, including 28 transgender delegates.