After Republicans silenced Senator Elizabeth Warren for attempting to read a letter impugning Attorney General nominee Jeff Sessions on the senate floor, clueless Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell gave women (and Twitter) the perfect rallying cry. “She was warned,” he said, defending their gag. “She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted.”
Hearing “she persisted,” as a woman, makes what Senator Warren tried to do even more inspiring. Good one, Mitch. #ShePersisted soon began trending on Twitter alongside #LetLizSpeak.
Senator Kamala Harris has tweeted a series of stunning images reminding us of the awesomeness and strength of women who persisted in the face of obstacles.
Like Coretta Scott King, the activist whose letter Warren was prevented from reading:
Or Ibtihaj Muhammad, the first U.S. Olympian to compete in a hijab (she won bronze)
Kamala Harris herself is a woman who persisted. The new Californian Senator is the first Indian American senator, and only the second ever black woman to serve in the U.S. Senate. Harris also praised to Shirley Chisholm. “Despite the naysayers, Shirley Chisholm became the first black major-party candidate to run for President of the United States,” she tweeted. Chisholm was also essential in paving the way for women to run for the presidency.
We have Judge Sonia Sotomayor, the first ever Latina Supreme Court Justice. As Harris tweets, “Because the voices of wise Latina women are necessary in the pursuit of justice and equality.”
Speaking of judges, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, the notorious RBG, was the first female member of the Harvard Law Review.
Wendy Davis, Harris tweets, “stood for 11 hours to filibuster a restrictive abortion bill.”
And Ieshia Evans, the 28-year-old mother who stood her ground and was arrested at a Black Lives Matter protest. Her friend said she went to Baton Rouge after the death of Alton Sterling “because she wanted to look her son in the eyes to tell him she fought for his freedom and rights.”
Harris and these women make clear that we should never stop persisting.
In the words of Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, well-behaved women seldom make history.
More from BUST
Elizabeth Warren, Coretta Scott King, And Civil Rights Silenced By GOP
11 Women I’m Aspiring To Be More Like In 2017
Finally, This Congresswoman Is Taking The Fight Against Trump Into Her Own Hands
