Drawing supporters from all over New York and as far as Hollywood, Team Bernie Sanders hosted a roundtable conversation for women in Harlem on Friday. At the Row House on Frederick Douglass Boulevard, EBONY editor-in-chief Kierna Mayo moderated a discussion between Rosario Dawson, actress and activist, Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow, Tessa Thompson, Creed star, and Donna Hylton, a criminal justice advocate, about the issues at stake—especially for women of color—in this election.

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Moderating this talk was a journalistic high point. I havent endorsed any1 but WOC + political insight =real power. https://t.co/7tcWyT4hGi — Kierna Mayo (@kiernamayo) April 1, 2016

"Women of color have always throughout our history played critical roles in building the revolutions that have helped to win our freedom," Alexander said. "At this particular moment, I just couldn't be more thrilled to see so many brilliant, beautiful, bold, tenacious women coming together to say that we are committed to this political revolution—a revolution that will begin with Bernie Sanders and certainly won't end with him."

Over and over, Alexander, and Dawson, too, stressed how vital it is for women to stand up not only for the "kitchen table" issues, but for a broader suite of policies that research shows impact women in different ways than they do men.

"Women's issues have become this side note—as if we can talk about them out of relation to foreign policy, out of relation to health care," Dawson said. It is, Dawson maintained, narrow-minded to have a conversation about climate or mass incarceration or the student loan crisis and not talk about how they especially hold women back.

"When we talk about racial justice," Thompson added, "we need to talk about how multi-faceted it is, because it's not just physical violence that's perpetuated against black and brown people and women, but it's environmental violence, too. We know that when our air and water is being polluted that black, brown, and native people are disproportionately affected by that."

Explaining her support for Sanders, Thompson credited him for his grasp of "how layered these issues are" and expressed serious frustration over how her peers have reacted to her endorsement. "I can't tell you how many conversations I've had with women who go, 'But you're a feminist, are you not? So, who you are voting for? I'm confused.''"

"There is no question in my mind," she continued, "who is the feminist in this race." At that, Dawson broke out into applause on stage.

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When the time came for the audience to participate, women told stories of house foreclosures and friends in prison. They talked about racism, and social justice, and what rising rents have done to their neighborhoods. They wanted to know—what does Bernie Sanders have to say about this? What will he do? Does he realize how hard it has been for us?

Buoyed by the excitement in the room, Alexander reminded the women that such enormous problems will not be solved at the ballot box. "Real democracy" and an end to structural violence is going to demand "a movement that extends well beyond the election season." "I hope that women of color, the folks in this room, the people who have been doing brilliant, beautiful, bold, courageous work on behalf of Bernie Sanders' campaign, the people who have been involved in the Black Lives Matter movement, the DREAMers, the trans folks, the LGBT folks—that all of these folks commit themselves to building a long-term movement that will sustain the political revolution well beyond this election."

Based on the cheers that erupted in the room and went on for several moments, it sounds like she doesn't have to worry. She has comrades.

Mattie Kahn Mattie Kahn is a writer who lives in New York.

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