We are not defined by what happens to us, but rather how we respond to it
This International Women’s Day I remember Phillis Wheatley. May her story continue to inspire; may her light continue to illuminate the path we still must walk.
Roland Martin. Thank you @nowweknownews
Joe Biden did check in on me, more than once over those days – as he was managing multiple international crises; interviewing for hours with the special counsel; and governing our country. Regardless of your politics, Joe Biden is an exceptional human being. Just some of his super powers are: Empathy; Deep Caring For Others; and Profound Decency. I am graced by his friendship and leadership amidst a crisis.
Joe Biden did check in on me, more than once over those days – as he was managing multiple international crises; interviewing for hours with the special counsel; and governing our country. Regardless of your politics, Joe Biden is an exceptional human being. Just some of his super powers are: Empathy; Deep Caring For Others; and Profound Decency. I am graced by his friendship and leadership amidst a crisis.
The best revenge…
Studies show that here in America, 80% of Black women feel the need to change their hair in order to ‘fit in’ at their places of work, and the truth is, implicit and explicit biases against natural hair are all too prevalent. This is why I’m proud to have introduced the CROWN Act in the Senate, a bill aimed at ending historical discriminatory practices surrounding natural hairstyles. It’s incredibly heartening to see young girls like Leila Denai not only embrace their natural hair but stand up for herself and inspire others to do the same.
The United States — the land of the free — is home to 1 in 3 women incarcerated worldwide. We are also home to the highest maternal mortality rates among high-income nations, and the risk is even greater for incarcerated pregnant women. That’s why Lauren Underwood, Alma Adams, Ayanna Pressley, and I are championing a bill to end the inhumane practice of shackling pregnant people in prison. It’s time for federal action to protect lives and uphold people’s dignity.
They said I was buried. They did not realize, I was a seed. They said to be afraid of the wind and the rain. They didn’t realize, I would become the storm. They told me I would never walk. They did not realize, that I was born to fly. Here is to the spirit of Wilma Rudolph
“In a world where it means so much to take a man by the hand and sit beside him, to look frankly into his eyes and feel his heart beating with red blood; in a world where a social cigar or a cup of tea together means more than legislative halls and magazine articles and speeches,—one can imagine the consequences of the almost utter absence of such social amenities between estranged races, whose separation extends even to parks and streetcars.” -W.E.B. Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folk
From the drafts. ❄️ “Everyone is born an original, but sadly too many die copies” -Abraham Lincoln
Thank you @blackmenaces for always asking the important questions and teaching so many along the way.
Happy Pi Day!
When I came to the U.S. Senate, 10 years ago, I noticed there were too few women staffers in high level positions…stunningly so. I partnered with Senator Schatz, and we worked with Senator Schumer to get every Senate Democratic office to post their staff diversity numbers. With this added transparency and accountability the diversity of our Senate staffs have improved significantly. Diversity in our representative body a strength and better enables our Congress to truly represent all of America and serve our collective interests and common cause. Over half our population in this country is women, and it’s about time the higher echelons of congress better reflect that strength.
Such a beautiful moment of representation
You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may trod me in the very dirt But still, like dust, we’ll rise. Just like moons and like suns, With the certainty of tides, Just like hopes springing high, Still we’ll rise.
Today, the first day of Women’s History Month, we honor Alice Paul.
Thank you @eji_org
Today we remember Mary Walker: her courage and service; brilliance, resilience; her defiance and enduring legacy.
In March of 2020, COVID-19 was killing thousands of people a day across the world with no end in sight. Among the most vulnerable were U.S. prisoners. Lawmakers from both parties recognized that people in prison with no history of violence, who had medical vulnerabilities, or who committed nonviolent offenses could be safely removed from prisons and put on home confinement to lower the risk of COVID spreading. Congress went to work and passed the CARES Act unanimously in the Senate and with all but a handful of votes in the House, and it was immediately signed into law by President Trump. Home Confinement has not only proved to be enormously successful in keeping people out of prison, but has proven to save taxpayers a tremendous amount of money. This program has allowed people to begin the process of reintegrating into society. They have jobs, go to school, and take care of their families. Now, some Republican Senators want to end this successful program and return people who have successfully returned to their communities to prison. This makes no sense. Sending thousands of people who are successfully complying with home confinement requirements back to prison is morally wrong and fiscally irresponsible. We should protect Home Confinement and continue this successful program.
…’Do not be afraid to disappear—from it, from us, for awhile. And see what comes to you in the silence.’ – Michaela Coel. Thank you @blackliturgies for amplifying this message.
Here is to all those folks Who choose confidence over despite fear Who choose dreaming over doubting Who choose empowering self talk over self degrading self sabotage. “We become what we think about most of the time, and that’s the strangest secret.” -Earl Nightingale
This week I am excited to join so many students, teachers, and librarians in celebrating Read Across America! The book I’m reading this year is the inspiring story of Larry Doby. You can see the full video on YouTube! #readacrossamerica
