Why Women Wore White at the Democratic National Convention

When Vice President Kamala Harris takes to the stage to accept her party’s nomination for president on the final night of the Democratic National Convention, she will be greeted by a sea of people in white clothing.

Many delegates on the floor chose to don white sports jackets, white dresses, white t-shirts and white hats to honor the suffragists who fought to earn women the right to vote a little over a century ago.

White—as well as purple and gold—were the official colors of the National Woman’s Party and the wider movement for suffrage, according to an early party mission statement cited by The New York Times.

“White, the emblem of purity, symbolizes the quality of our purpose,” it read.

Their legacy will have particular bearing on Thursday night’s proceedings, which will culminate in the first Black and Indian American woman becoming the Democratic Party’s nominee.

The coordinated fashion movement was hatched through social media, with organizers posting on Facebook groups about the plan, according to NPR. (The Associated Press reported that party officials had asked delegates to put on white garments on Thursday.)

One organizer, Fadia Halma, told the outlet, “I think it’s really important when she’s up there and when she looks out and she sees us all in white, that she sees us and we’re all standing with her.”

The political significance of the color white is also linked to the Democratic conventions of 2016, when Hillary Clinton wore a white pantsuit to accept the nomination, and 1984, when Geraldrine Ferraro, the first female vice presidential nominee, also wore white.

“A lot of women fought for us to get where we are tonight, and we wanted to be part of the celebration,” Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego told the AP. “So it’s a forward-looking gesture, but also remembering a lot of people fought hard for today.”