(Left) Members of the South Carolina delegation cheer as they nominate Hillary Clinton. (Center) Clinton walks on stage to give her acceptance speech. (Right) Madelyn Laird, 7, from Gettysburg, Pa., at the end of the night at the Democratic National Convention.
From a drama-inducing email leak to a pattern of audible interruptions from protesters throughout, the unification of the Democratic Party remained a bit of a question mark as the convention drew to a close on Thursday evening. Despite a lineup of speakers intended to calm the anxieties of the delegates and a plea from Sen. Bernie Sanders for his supporters to go all-in with the party's nominee, Hillary Clinton, the tumult of the Democratic National Convention mirrored that of the Republican National Convention the week prior.
Even so, there was triumph amidst the upheaval and the convention marked an important moment: the nomination of the first female presidential candidate for a major party in the history of the United States.
Throughout this past week in Philadelphia, photographer Gabriella Demczuk continued her exploration of the fractures in America's political system, examining the Democratic Party's attempt to make itself "stronger together."
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Gabriella Demczuk for NPR
Construction workers (right) watch Bernie Sanders supporters march across the Benjamin Franklin Bridge from Camden, N.J., to Philadelphia.
Gabriella Demczuk for NPR
Children play in the fountain at City Hall while a rally files past.
Gabriella Demczuk for NPR
(Left) Sanders supporters stage a demonstration, walking out of the arena after Clinton is nominated. (Center) A shadow of a Sanders supporter is cast during the protest. (Right) A Sanders supporter exhales in frustration during Sanders' speech.
Gabriella Demczuk for NPR
A Secret Service agent stands in the balloon pit as police watch the floor of the arena from backstage.
Gabriella Demczuk for NPR
(Left) A man wearing a Sanders T-shirt watches a demonstration outside the arena. (Right) Sixteen-month-old Ethan Jennings sleeps in his father's arms in the Florida delegation's section of the convention.
Gabriella Demczuk for NPR
Johnnie Roebuck (left) and Joyce Elliott, from the Arkansas delegation, celebrate as Clinton is named the Democratic presidential nominee.
Gabriella Demczuk for NPR
(Left) Photographs of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are taped to a tree in Franklin Delano Roosevelt Park. (Center) Pro-Sanders paraphernalia is left on barriers in the rain after protests all week. (Right) A Sanders pamphlet litters the ground in the rain.
Ariel Zambelich is an editor on NPR's award-winning Visuals Team, which collaborates with the newsroom to tell stories that create empathy through photojournalism, illustration, graphics, design, data reporting, and video journalism. She has covered major breaking news events, collaborated on international stories including climate change in India and war in Afghanistan, photographed high-profile figures like President Obama and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and contributed to long-term investigations about veterans' issues and the effects of mustard gas testing.