NC Dem 'Unity Dinner' to take place after 2 year pause

NC Democratic Party announces New Mexico's Deb Haaland as keynote speaker

In an update to this story, the NC Democratic Black Caucus plans to boycott the Unity Dinner and other party events this weekend. According to the Associated Press, African American members of the NCDP are boycotting due to party officials overlooking Juneteenth and Father's Day.

“The NCDP did not consider its magnitude of disregard” for the holidays, the African American Caucus of the North Carolina Democratic Party said in a release. The group's statement said the concerns surfaced after last weekend's monthly meeting of the caucus, which has from 300 to 500 members.

The North Carolina Democratic Party (NCDP) will be holding its annual “Unity Dinner” on June 18 after a more than two-year hiatus caused by the pandemic.

“We're excited to be working with Mystic Distillery, Rocky Top Catering, Beta Productions and Poythress Tents for this special outdoor Unity Dinner,” the event page says. “The Dress Code for this year's Unity Dinner is: Summer Seersucker and sundresses. Don't forget outdoor friendly shoes! See you on June 18th!”

Tickets range from $65 all the way up to a pricey $10,000 for a “Presidential Club” ticket.

Headlining the event are Governor Roy Cooper and former N.C. Chief Justice Cheri Beasley, who is running against Republican Ted Budd for one of the state’s U.S. Senate seats.

The NCDP has also announced New Mexico’s Deb Haaland as their keynote speaker this week.

Haaland is the first Native American to serve as a cabinet secretary for the U.S. Department of the Interior and assumed office on Mar. 16, 2021. She was nominated by President Biden in mid-December of 2020 following a mostly partisan confirmation by the Senate by a vote of 51–40; four Republicans (Collins, Murkowski, Sullivan, Graham) voted with Democrats to confirm her.

According to her bio, she is a “member of the Pueblo of Laguna and a 35th generation New Mexican.”

In 2012, Haaland was the state's vote director for Native Americans for the Obama 2012 presidential reelection campaign. Haaland ran unsuccessfully for her state’s Lieutenant Governor spot in 2014.

In 2015, Haaland was elected as the chair of the Democratic Party of New Mexico and helped Democrats take control of the state’s House of Representatives. When she took over the party, it was deep in debt racked up over the seven years prior.

From Jan. 3, 2019, until the time of her installment as Secretary of the Interior, Haaland served as New Mexico’s First District representative in Congress.

According to her Department of the Interior bio, “In Congress, she focused on environmental justice, climate change, missing and murdered indigenous women, and family-friendly policies.”

The NCDP has brought in speakers from outside the state in the past, most recently and notably former Obama administration Attorney General Eric Holder.