Nevertheless, She Persisted

Friday, February 10, 2017 Uncategorized No tags Permalink

30 years ago a black woman wrote a letter asking for her basic humanity to be recognized and a racist not put into a position of power to erode even further her civil and human rights as a US citizen.
Earlier this week, a white woman attempted to amplify that Black woman’s words and was shut down by a group of mostly white men who used a rule that was previously used to prevent the discussion of race and civil rights from happening in the Senate by silencing abolitionists.
Then, a white man amplified the words of the Black woman, and was allowed to by the majority white male Senate.
1. Has there ever been a more obvious demonstration of the hierarchy of who’s allowed to speak?
2. If you never knew how our governmental system and procedural rules are designed to reinforce a racist misogynist society, now you know.
3. Don’t look away.

Senator Sessions was a racist then, he’s still a racist today. Senator Elizabeth Warren tried to read a letter from Coretta Scott King, wife of slain civil rights activist Martin Luther King, and was not allowed to. The letter was written in 1986 in regard to Sessions’ appointment to the US District Court. Freedom of Speech no longer applies. Wait uuntil your internet is threatened. Will you speak up then?

“She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted.”
-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell speaking about invoking Senate Rule XIX to silence Senator Elizabeth Warren from reading a letter from Coretta Scott King.

“During the debate on whether to make Jeff Sessions the next Attorney General, I tried to read a letter from Coretta Scott King on the floor of the Senate. The letter, from 30 years ago, urged the Senate to reject the nomination of Jeff Sessions to a federal judgeship. The Republicans took away my right to read this letter on the floor – so I’m right outside, reading it now.”-Elizabeth Warren

Thank you to all of these brave, strong, and admirable women for persisting in the face of so much opposition. May they inspire us all to do the same.