On Tuesday night, Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts took to the podium during a session in the Senate to persuade members to vote "no" on the appointment of, now, Attorney General Jeff Sessions. As she began to read the words of a 1986 letter written by Coretta Scott King-- an incredible activist detailing then Senator Sessions as "us[ing] the awesome powers of his office in a shabby attempt to intimidate and frighten elderly black voters -- she was abruptly interrupted by the Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
His reason for interrupting her? According to Senator McConnell, Senator Warren had violated Rule 19 of the United States Senate which says, "no Senator in debate shall, directly or indirectly, by any form of words impute to another Senator or to other Senators any conduct or motive unworthy or unbecoming a Senator." Essentially, Senator McConnell believed Senator Warren had spoken ill of another Senator--this being Senator Sessions--and she was therefore silenced from the Senate floor.
In his remarks, Senator McConnell said of Senator Warren, "She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted." This short statement has added a fuel to the fire that is the modern-day feminism movement. After the event took place on the Senate floor, millions of females shared their stories of being silenced. Even former Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton tweeted in support of Warren.
So, here's to my fellow ladies: let us persist. Let me be clear that this is not about a single community of women, it is about every single race of women. I have to acknowledge my privilege in this moment because it would be ignorant of me to not point out that Warren is a white female who was reading a letter from a female African-American activist and Civil Rights leader when she was silenced. Yes, it is important that he Warren's action of speaking out on the Senate floor led to McConnell's statement, but we cannot ignore that it was because of the words of Coretta Scott King. I cannot ignore the historical oppression that many other races of females have continuously had to endure.
I stand in solidarity with you and I fight alongside you. As a human being who has witnessed incredible female movements throughout history, who has heard stories from fellow females being silenced in sexual assault cases, who have been pushed aside and undermined for centuries. We shall persist.
Let us continue to shout, to march, to open the eyes of those around us. This is an interesting moment in our country's history. A moment when we take to the big screen to acknowledge intelligent females changing NASA. When we take to the stress in masses to declare that women will not be silenced and to have women all over the country taking positions of leadership in their workplaces. Let us seize this moment like the sisters that came before us.
