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Elizabeth Warren Is Here To Remind You Why Persisting Is Still More Important Than Ever
On Monday evening, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren brought back "nevertheless she persisted" in a tweet to mark six months since her removal from the Senate floor. Though time has passed since that day, her determination to stand her ground is still just as relevant.
Warren was originally barred from the Senate floor back in February after she gave a speech during the debate to consider Jeff Sessions for the position of Attorney General. Warren had been reading a letter from Coretta Scott King, who had written to the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1986 to oppose the nomination of Sessions as a federal judge. In reading the letter, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell deemed that Warren had "impugned the motives of our colleague from Alabama." McConnell then famously said of Warren "She was warned, she was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted." Warren was subsequently banned from speaking on the Senate floor for the remainder of the Sessions debate.
Perhaps to McConnell's surprise, his words, "nevertheless, she persisted," became a rallying cry for those — especially women — who feel like others are trying to silence their voices. As Warren described to TIME back in May, many have taken on phrase as their resistance mantra under the Trump administration. Warren talked about those resisters during her interview with TIME.
They have made ‘Nevertheless, She Persisted’ their connection to America’s future ... They will not sit down and be quiet. Not ever again.
On Monday, Warren paid tribute via Twitter to those who have dedicated themselves to the resistance. In addition to noting that it has been six months since she was barred from speaking on the Senate floor, Warren also encouraged users to read Scott King's letter if they had not already done so, sharing a link to the text of the letter. The senator went on to share her emphatic support for the "nevertheless, she persisted" movement by tweeting a variety of photos with people sporting the now-iconic phrase.
Warren accompanied each of the photo tweets with captions that spoke about the universality and importance of the resistance movement. In one tweet, Warren clarified that "nevertheless she persisted" is about so much more than only her experience on the Senate floor.
"Nevertheless, #ShePersisted" isn't about me. It's all of us. It's people everywhere tired of being told to sit down & shut up.
It is clear that the way in which supporters have seized on McConnell's words to turn them into a message of empowerment clearly resonates with Warren. It is wonderful to see her providing encouragement and support to those who are inspired to engage in the resistance movement partly as a result of these words and Warren's actions.