A few hours into the final night of the Democratic National Convention, after about two dozen speeches by prominent Democrats such as Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, who received thunderous applause before she had even said a word, and Texas Representative Colin Allred, who is campaigning to oust Republican Senator Ted Cruz from office, the stage at Chicago’s United Center was taken over by prominent presenter Kerry Washington, one of Hollywood’s more politically engaged actresses and producers – after all, she played this role not only on television.

“Look, I know I’m the one standing on this stage, but I’m not the main character in this story,” Washington said to growing applause. “I’m here as a mother, as a daughter, as a proud union member. I’m here as a granddaughter of immigrants, as a black woman descended from enslaved people. I’m here tonight because I’m an American and because I’m a voter and because we, the people, are stronger when all of our voices are heard.”

“I am not the main character in this story. You are, all of you. You are the messengers. You are the fixers. I dare say you are Olivia Pope,” she added, referring to her scandal political-operational character.

Washington later gave Harris’ great-nieces a lesson for the crowd and those watching at home: Kamala is pronounced “comma” and then “lah.” Get it right, folks, it’s not hard! Meena Harris, Ella Emhoff and Helena Hudlin – the vice president’s niece, stepdaughter and goddaughter – then spoke about Harris’s impact on their lives over the years.

Gun control, a key issue for many Democrats, took center stage as Rep. Lucy McBath of Georgia, whose son was killed by a gunman, joined the families of children murdered in Uvalde, Texas; Newtown, Connecticut; Charleston, South Carolina; and Chicago. The words of the mothers, who took the stage to speak of their grief and loss, were among the most devastating moments of the convention.

Former Arizona Rep. Gabby Giffords, who was shot in the head at a congressional event in 2010, took the stage with her husband, an astronaut, and Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, who was on the shortlist for Harris’ candidacy. He spoke a little later about foreign policy issues and the numerous wars and geopolitical conflicts in which the United States is embroiled.

“We all need a team. I’ve flown into space four times. I’ve been on combat missions almost 40 times. Not once did I do it alone. To accomplish a mission, you needed a team,” Kelly said. “Vladimir Putin is testing whether we’re still strong – Iran, North Korea and especially China. Watch closely. Trump … has called on Russia to do, and these are his words, not mine: ‘whatever they want.'”

He continued: “Vice President Harris has always championed America’s support of NATO, Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. She defends free, fair elections everywhere. You already know what Trump thinks about that. Trump skipped his intelligence briefings. He was too busy currying favor with dictators and dreaming of one of his own.”

Before Senator Kelly’s speech, popular singer-songwriter Pink took the DNC stage after Giffords’ performance and sang “What About Us” from her seventh studio album. Alecia Beth Hart Moore, aka Pink, wrote the song as a protest song of the unheard, targeting the U.S. government and questioning why it has failed so many people. The accompanying music video, released in 2017, features members of minority groups performing and dancing in an abandoned helicopter chased by searchlights above them. She sang the song Thursday with her daughter, 13-year-old Willow, harmonizing alongside her.

Gretchen Whitmer, the rising star of the Democratic Party and governor of Michigan – perhaps she has now achieved party star status – is dealing with economic issues that are discussed at the kitchen table and is trying to make herself and Harris approachable to the electorate on that front.

“I’ve known (Harris) for more than a decade and she comes from a family very similar to mine and I’m sure yours,” Whitmer said. “We both grew up knowing that nobody was going to give us anything, especially as women, that we had every rung of the ladder at our disposal to move forward.”

As the fourth night of the Democratic National Convention began, guests filling the 25,000 seats at Chicago’s United Center found an unexpected object on their seats – a glowing wristband with the DNC 2024 logo on the front. Since there was one wristband for everyone, thoughts ran wild about the actual purpose of the item.

During Harris’ closing remarks at the United Center, will the crowd form a constellation of lights that might form her face or the Harris/Walz logo? Toward the end of the evening, whispers began to swirl that there was a gap in the program, and with Oprah Winfrey’s surprise appearance at the podium in the rearview mirror, the question became which woman would deserve such a spot.

We’ll know soon… but for the next few hours we’re all free to speculate.

Attendees may also have noticed that the female delegates in attendance wore white on the night of Harris’ acceptance of the Democratic nomination in honor of women’s suffrage. It was a triumphant group that danced several times during the evening’s intermissions to the sounds of Chicago DJ Metro. The DJ also played Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off” and Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold ‘Em.”

Celebrities are already on the list for the evening: Eva Longoria, moderator (starting at 8 p.m. CT), Kerry Washington, DL Hughley and others will join the rock stars of the Democratic Party, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Democratic Caucus Chair Katherine Clark and Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and Sen. Mark Kelly. But the first Hollywood star to show up was Morgan Freeman, who appeared alongside actor Jeffrey Wright as the narrator of one of Harris’ new commercials that ran this week. The 87-year-old Oscar winner, whose storytelling skills have been used so frequently in films it’s almost a cliche, spoke over a montage of moments from Harris’ life that might seem familiar to savvy viewers who watched last night’s DNC show.

“And then came a moment that changed Kamala Harris’s destiny and ignited her inner fire,” Freeman told viewers with his typical omniscience.

Among the speakers at the United Center in the opening hours was California Senator Alex Padilla, who took Harris’ seat when she became vice president. Padilla not only shares her seat with Harris – they are both children of immigrant families who have risen to the top in their state’s political arena.

“My question to you is: Who is ready to defend the dream this November?” Padilla asked the crowd. “Tim Walz is ready to defend the dream. Kamala Harris is ready to defend the dream.”

Next, Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin shared details of her childhood that are very similar to those of Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance. Like the junior senator from Ohio, Baldwin had a mother who struggled with addiction and was raised by her grandparents. Social Security and Medicare were survival for her childhood, and Baldwin pointed out that Trump has proposed cutting both programs. “We will not allow that,” she said.

“We Democrats honor our elders and demand that the rich pay their fair share,” she added.

Soon after, Al Sharpton appeared on stage to introduce the “Exonerated 5” – the new name of the five men who were falsely accused as teenagers in a New York rape case and then convicted by the justice system. Donald Trump took it upon himself to pay a reported $89,000 to take out full-page ads in four newspapers calling for the state to execute the young men. All five were exonerated by DNA analysis; in total, they served 41 years in prison.

Korey Wise, the only one of the five to have served his entire sentence in the adult system, spoke to the crowd about his experience in 1989, saying, “When we walked into the courtroom every day, people were yelling at us and threatening us – because of Donald Trump… we were innocent children.”

Yusef Salaam, who now represents part of Harlem as a New York City Councilor, next spoke of voting for Harris to “finally say goodbye to this hateful man.”

“This man believes hate is the driving force in America; it’s not. We have the constitutional right to vote – it’s actually a human right, so let’s use it,” Salaam said. “I want you to walk with us. I want you to march with us. I want you to vote with us. And I tell you, it’s going to be so beautiful. And together, on November 5, we’re going to lead Kamala Harris and Tim Walz into the White House.”