Kids take the spotlight at the Democratic National Convention

The third night of the Democratic National Convention featured some of the biggest names in Democratic politics — former President Barack Obama, vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and more.

But it was children who stole the show Wednesday, speaking to issues they’re fighting for, and explaining why Democrats are best equipped to handle them.

From gun violence, to climate change, to immigration reform, children and other young people described how those issues impact their lives, and why Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is their choice because of his stances on those issues.

Early on in the evening, the convention played a video about gun violence narrated by Emma Gonzales — who survived the high school shooting in Parkland, Florida, as a teenager and has since become a gun control advocate.

We call BS.#DemConvention pic.twitter.com/n3XtNdvZEn

— 2024 Democratic National Convention (@DemConvention) August 20, 2020

“People affected by gun violence have to walk by the street corner where their best friend, their brother, their mother, their nephew, where they themselves were shot, and life goes on and on as if we haven’t just watched a loved one die and get put in the grave,” Gonzales says in the video, which features images of memorials to victims of mass shootings like the one she survived.

“The whole point of what I’m saying here is that until one of us or all of us stand up and say, ‘I can’t do this anymore. I can’t sit by and watch the news treat these shootings as acts of God.’ Gun violence isn’t just going to stop until there’s a voice fighting harder against it,” Gonzales added.

Later in the program, the convention featured young climate change activists who describe why they’re fighting to help stop climate change, and why they are backing Biden to help achieve that goal.

“Joe Biden’s plan is transformative,” Katherine Lorenzo, who describes herself as an Afro-Latina and climate activist, said in a video. “He knows that saving the planet isn’t just a challenge to overcome, it’s an opportunity for a better way of life.”

In another powerful moment, an 11-year-old child named Estella, whose undocumented mother was deported despite being the wife to a U.S. Marine and having no criminal record, read an open letter to Donald Trump about how his policy has impacted her life.

“Instead of protecting us, you tore our world apart,” she said in the video. “Now my mom is gone, and she’s been taken from us for no reason at all.”

And Billie Eilish, an 18-year-old Grammy Award-winning artist, spoke about why she is endorsing Biden before performing one of her new songs titled “My Future.”