Joe Biden believes that if something happens to him, Kamala Harris is ready to govern. That’s primarily why he picked her. But if we parse her acceptance speech, delivered last night to an eerily empty hall (which is a shame, because she fires up crowds), it’s clear that one of her big tasks this fall is to stoke enthusiasm among people of color – and correct the deficit that helped doom Hillary Clinton.

To understand why Harris emphasized her personal story – as a child of immigrants, the first Black-South Asian woman to run on a national ticket – we need only remember some of the most pivotal stats of 2016. According to one comprehensive study, “Voter turnout among whites – the racial/ethnic group most strongly in Trump’s corner – increased by 2.4 percentage points in 2016 compared to 2012. In stark contrast, turnout among African Americans – the group most loyal to Hillary Clinton and the Democratic party – fell by 4.7 percentage points nationally…While the decline in Black turnout was stark across the board, it was sharpest, on average, in the states that determined the outcome of the election. Black turnout fell by 4.3 percentage points in non-battleground states in 2016 compared to 2012. But it fell by 5.3 percentage points in states where the election was decided by a margin of less than 10 points.”

For whatever reasons (no need to re-litigate them now), Hillary and her running mate (pop quiz – name him!) failed to connect. That proved pivotal in key states like Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. And even though Joe Biden has strong minority support – as evidenced by his primary victory – he seeks to ensure robust minority turnout by doubling down with Harris. If people of color can see themselves in her, all the better.

Indeed, Harris said that out loud: “Joe and I believe that we can build (a) beloved community, one that is strong and decent, just and kind. One in which we all can see ourselves.”

The strategy was obvious at the start of her speech, when she marked the 100th anniversary of women’s right to vote by pointing out that “so many of the Black women who helped secure that victory were still prohibited from voting, long after its ratification. But they were undeterred…These women inspired us to pick up the torch and fight on…We’re not often taught their stories.” She soon segued to honoring her mother, who raised her and her sister “to be proud, strong Black women” and “proud of our Indian heritage.”

Black women are the most loyal group within the Democratic base. If not for the Black women voters in Alabama two years ago, a credibly accused Republican child molester would be sitting in the U.S. Senate. Their votes this fall, in the greatest numbers possible, are imperative. Their activism this fall is imperative; Harris pointedly recalled that her parents “fell in love in that most American way – while marching together for justice in the civil rights movement.”

Most notably, this shout-out to people of color was at the heart of her speech:

And while (the coronavirus) touches us all, let’s be honest, it is not an equal opportunity offender. Black, Latino and Indigenous people are suffering and dying disproportionately. This is not a coincidence. It is the effect of structural racism. Of inequities in education and technology, health care and housing, job security and transportation. The injustice in reproductive and maternal health care. In the excessive use of force by police. And in our broader criminal justice system.

This virus has no eyes, and yet it knows exactly how we see each other -and how we treat each other. And let’s be clear – there is no vaccine for racism. We’ve gotta do the work. For George Floyd. For Breonna Taylor. For the lives of too many others to name. For our children. For all of us. We’ve gotta do the work to fulfill the promise of equal justice under law. Because none of us are free until all of us are free.

And near the end of her speech, I was struck by one passing remark: “We’ve shown that, when we vote, we expand access to health care…” True that. The massive 2008 turnout that propelled Barack Obama to the presidency greased the wheels for the historic passage of Obamacare – and just imagine how much more devastating the pandemic’s impact would be today if not for the fact that 20 million people are covered under Obamacare. And if turnout is massive in 2020, Harris said, “we have a chance to change the course of history.” Again.

But I don’t mean to suggest that Harris, on Biden’s behalf, was solely focused on people of color. Because there was one particular passage that should resonate with every prospective voter – regardless of race, color, or creed – who rightly detests every breath that Donald Trump takes:

As a lawyer, district attorney, state attorney general, and U.S. senator, “I’ve fought for the children, and survivors of sexual assault. I’ve fought against transnational gangs. I took on the biggest banks, and helped take down one of the biggest for-profit colleges. I know a predator when I see one.”

To which I say: Go get him, sister.