CNN
—

For Vice President Kamala Harris, her speech accepting the Democratic nomination Thursday night was one of the most significant moments in her rapid rise to become the first black and Asian-American woman to lead a major party’s presidential nomination.

However, one image captured what this moment could mean for young girls.

The photo was taken by New York Times photographer Todd Heisler and shows Amara Ajagu, one of the vice president’s young great-nieces, watching Harris speak at the convention. More than most little girls, Ajagu can tell that Harris could be the first president to look like her.

Harris’ potential to be first has been an undertone of her presidential bid since she first campaigned in 2020. Although she opted for a dark suit on Thursday rather than the white suffragette costume worn by an overwhelming number of Democratic women at the Chicago Convention Center, the historic nature of the moment was at the forefront of many’s minds all week.

Several speakers talked about their predecessors, from former New York Representative Shirley Chisholm – who became the first black woman to run for a major party’s nomination in 1972 – to 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

The photo is also a reminder of the role Harris’ family played at the convention. Before the vice president’s speech, Amara and her younger sister Leela gave the crowd a lesson in pronouncing their great aunt’s first name: “comma,” like punctuation, then “la,” like the sing-song “la, la, la.”