In 2008, when Hillary bowed out of the presidential race, many dreams were put on hold. When Barack Obama won the White House, many beautiful dreams were realized. There was disappointment and there was glory in that election, pain and elation. Many of us remember it vividly. I held my baby daughter on my shoulders and cried tears of joy when Obama won.

Eight years later, Hillary is positioned to win the Democratic nomination, itself a historic accomplishment. The dreams of 2008 have blossomed again and the idea that America will elect its first woman president 8 years after electing its first black president is one that inspires and energizes.

Bernie Sanders has brought crucial issues to the fore. He has mobilized millions of voters. He deserves great credit for it.

Now, as Democrats we must start dealing squarely with the threat of Donald Trump. We need to come together and take on a truly radical Republican Party.

This is Hillary’s moment. It is the moment when her decades of dedication, her indomitable spirit, her wisdom, her steadiness, her compassion are brought to bear to lead Democrats to victory in November.

When the 2016 campaign began, the conventional wisdom was that Hillary had all the advantages. She had name recognition, connections, the support of the party, the upper hand in fundraising. All of these things were true, and they were invoked on a loop to suggest that securing the Democratic nomination would be a walk in the park.

But what the “inevitable” narrative ignored was Hillary’s four-decade deficit of harshly negative messaging and a 227-year shutout of women from the office she is seeking. The narrative suggested that her winning was no big deal, because of all her advantages, when the truth is that she has fought her way through an unfathomably mountainous heap of personal attacks and institutional gender bias stretching back to the nation’s very foundations.

Yes, this is Hillary’s moment. And as Democrats and progressives, this is our moment as well.

(Melissa McEwan contributed to this post)