Four years ago tonight, Mitch McConnell silenced me on the Senate floor because I tried to read a letter from Coretta Scott King. He was trying to tell an entire movement to sit down and shut up.
Danielle,
Four years ago tonight, Mitch McConnell silenced me on the Senate floor because I tried to read a letter from Coretta Scott King.
He was trying to tell an entire movement to sit down and shut up.
Nevertheless, we persisted. And now, he doesn't get to call the shots anymore.
Rarely a day goes by that I'm not reminded about that night — and reminded about the fire it stoked in people all across the country.
Women have put it on t-shirts, embroidered it on pillows, and tattooed it on their bodies. I've seen them in giant script, in discreet print, with Rosie the Riveter, and in cats' faces (purrrr-sist).
I've loved seeing every single bracelet, necklace, headband, coffee cup, poster, and anything else that celebrates "Nevertheless, She Persisted." Not just because of all the cool gear you can find on the Internet these days — but because it reminds me that women proudly own their persistence all the way.
That night four years ago wasn't about me. It was about all of us. Every single person who was tired of being told to sit down and shut up. Every person who read Coretta Scott King's letter and decided this was their fight, too.
I know how hard it was to keep up this fight day after day after day these past four years. It wasn't the fight that any of us wanted. But sometimes the fight comes to you. And when it does, you can either run away, or you can square your shoulders and take it on. That's what persisting is all about.
And thanks to you, and all your persisting and fighting, we've taken back the House, the Senate, and the presidency. Now we have our eyes set on real COVID relief and big, structural change.
To everyone who shared your stories along the way and to everyone who got in the fight, I want you to know this: I carry your stories and your ideas with me in my heart. It is an honor to persist by your side every day.
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