Thirty-one years ago, Coretta Scott King — the widow of civil rights titan Martin Luther King Jr. — pleaded with the Senate to not confirm Jeff Sessions as a federal judge based on his history of suppressing and intimidating black voters. The Senate listened.
Now Sessions is a senator and is set to be confirmed as our nation's attorney general. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, trying to stop Sessions's ascension, read King's 1986 letter to the Senate Tuesday night.
Senate Majority Leader and Donald Trump toadyMitch McConnell refused to let Warren finish reading the letter, claiming she was "impugning" Sessions's reputation. With the support of Republicans, McConnell then invoked a rarely used rule that forced Warren to sit down and shut up. When questioned about silencing Warren, and effectively King, McConnell said this: “Sen. Warren was giving a lengthy speech. She had appeared to violate the rule. She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted.”
McConnell's words came back to haunt him, as social media exploded with the hashtag #shepersisted, highlighting the accomplishments of brave women. Freshman California Sen. Kamala Harris created memes that captured the essence of this new rallying cry.
By silencing Elizabeth Warren, the GOP gave women around the world a rallying cry. #ShePersisted #LetLizSpeak pic.twitter.com/uH6WIngHaL
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) February 8, 2017
#ShePersisted because #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/VhomWXb5XM
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) February 8, 2017
#ShePersisted pic.twitter.com/9ZZdFgFoTV
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) February 8, 2017
Despite the naysayers, Shirley Chisholm became the first black major-party candidate to run for President of the United States #ShePersisted pic.twitter.com/UcWeRvmuBE
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) February 8, 2017
.@WendyDavis stood for 11 hours to filibuster a restrictive abortion bill. #ShePersisted pic.twitter.com/46bApZJUGx
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) February 8, 2017
#ShePersisted because the voices of wise Latina women are necessary in the pursuit of justice and equality. pic.twitter.com/OZw2TlRaHm
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) February 8, 2017
#ShePersisted and became the first U.S. Olympic athlete to compete while wearing a hijab. pic.twitter.com/ouvIz4kIf3
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) February 8, 2017
Never stop persisting. #ShePersisted pic.twitter.com/EQ5bmq88d5
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) February 8, 2017
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