Women of color have the numbers to generate a Democratic victory—if we show up at the polls. In swing states across the country, women of color dominate Democratic voter rolls. We are a third of Democratic voters in Florida, North Carolina and Texas. In Georgia, we’re 44 percent. For us to show up like we did in 2018, we need Democrats to prove that they still care about us, see us and value us.

In 2016, the decision to put Tim Kaine on the ticket was supposed to be the “safe” choice, but he failed to inspire half the enthusiasm the congresswomen of “the Squad” do every day. That year, the battleground states of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania saw a huge drop-off in turnout among women of color who previously voted for President Barack Obama—and the states all went to Trump.

This campaign season has felt like one long exercise in erasing people of color. Picking a woman of color as vice president would change that momentum. It would signal to me and my community that our lives and our votes matter to the party. Additionally, it would help build a broader coalition of Democrats, bridging the gap between moderates and progressives by giving us a vision of America as it should be—something important after Biden’s most recent wins on Tuesday.