There are two things political leaders in this country rarely do well: the first is owning up when they make a mistake and the second is taking action so that it never happens again.

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) did just that after the Black Womxn For (BWF) steering committee released a public statement expressing our disappointment with statements she made calling life sentences an acceptable replacement for the death penalty. While Warren isn’t the only progressive presidential candidate to share this sentiment, we understood that we were best positioned to hold her accountable as active supporters of her campaign.

Less than 24 hours later, I joined members of the BWF steering committee on a call with Warren and several of her senior staffers. While I did not know what to expect, I was clear that what she and her campaign staff did next would determine whether I could support her candidacy moving forward. While the campaign had shown itself to be responsive to BWF in the past, experience and history have taught me that nothing is ever guaranteed in politics.

On that call, Warren did what I’ve only witnessed from political leaders after sustained public shaming — she immediately took full responsibility for her actions and demonstrated that she understood the harm her words could do:

“I messed up.”

“I went too far in one direction.”

There is “no excuse for dehumanizing anyone and that was my mistake.”

For a second, we were left speechless. Then Rukia Lumumba, a Jackson, Mississippi-based human rights leader, began to speak, and Warren listened. Lumumba talked about the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Mississippi prisons. She explained the situation that prison reform advocates in the state have documented: a lack of access to showers, clean clothes, medical care, outside time, phone use, visitation privileges, or sufficient food and water. Lumumba made it clear that life in prison under these conditions is not acceptable, and that the senator can use her position, power, and influence to do something about it.

At a recent CNN town hall, Warren praised the women of Black Womxn For, calling us “pushy.” She wasn’t wrong — on that Sunday morning call in the midst of a highly competitive race, we pushed her and she listened. It was the first time I’d witnessed a powerful politician and major Democratic presidential candidate admit that she had made a mistake (when called out the first time, not the fifth), then immediately commit to doing differently in the future and lay out what she would do to fix inhumane practices in our criminal justice system.

I’m used to elected officials, even those who espouse progressive or even radical politics, failing at having difficult conversations about issues disproportionately impacting Black communities. I’ve come to expect elected officials to close their doors to concerns brought forth by Black people, especially Black women — only willing to open them after we bang loudly.

While taking responsibility for her actions is not inherently exceptional, Warren’s ability to do so and to grow from the experience is an exception in a political climate where personality is gaining traction over strategy and the ability to get things done.

Our exchange — along with Warren's Working Agenda for Black America, which focuses on making big structural changes in health care, student loan debt, access to free college, housing, and the criminal legal system — assured me that I should put my vote, money, and time toward supporting her candidacy.

What a candidate does leading up to game day, or in this case, election day shows me what type of president she’ll be. I learned this lesson a long time ago from my high school dance team coach. Coach Brenda Harris would always say “what you do in practice will show up on the floor.”