The Iowa Democratic Party’s annual fall fundraiser has a new name.
The event will be held November 1, 2019. It will attract international attention, as it has in the past, due to all the Democratic presidential candidates who’ll speak. It’s been re-branded as the Liberty and Justice Celebration.
For decades, the annual event was named for Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson, who are considered the founders of the Democratic Party. A few years ago Jefferson-Jackson Day Dinners in Iowa and other states were renamed after critics pointed out Jackson’s policies towards Native Americans and that Jefferson owned slaves.
The Iowa Democratic Party renamed its annual J-J Dinner “The Fall Gala” in 2015.
The Iowa Democratic Party has rented Wells Fargo Arena — the largest venue in Des Moines — for their 2019 Liberty and Justice Celebration. The party’s chairman says it will give Democrats a chance to highlight the party’s strength heading into the 2020 election.