Personalities receive coveted speaking slot on Thursday at the DNC

When Shomari Figures takes the stage at the Democratic National Convention on Thursday night, he will carry Alabama's entire 2nd Congressional District.

Figures' campaign announced Monday morning that he would receive the coveted speaker position and take the stage before the party's nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris. Later, Figures, the 39-year-old Mobile native and son of a legendary civil rights leader and a trailblazing state senator, said he would stand on her legacy and the legacy of so many other great civil rights leaders from the district.

“I will carry them all with me,” Figures said. ““It is an honor to speak on behalf of Alabama and the voters of the 2nd District.”

The position given to Figures as speaker likely shows how important his campaign is to the Democratic Party's overall goal of taking control of the House. Alabama's newly populated 2nd District, while certainly more favorable to Democrats, is no sure thing. And Figures' opponent, Republican Caroleene Dobson, has spent enough of her family fortune – more than $1.5 million so far – to ensure it remains competitive.

However, the likely nomination of Harris instead of Biden has breathed considerably more life into the race for the majority, and most experts agree that at this point he can only lose the race.

Thursday's speech could go a long way toward securing that victory and establishing Figures, who spent several years in the Justice Department and the Biden administration, as a rising star within the party.