Hillary Clinton Instagram – I was honored to speak at a celebration of Cecile Richards’ life today. Cecile knew there is no finish line in the march for justice. There are no permanent victories in politics—no moment when you sit back and say, “Well, that’s it, we won! It’s over!” Because there is always more work to be done—both to move us forward and to stop us from being moved backward.
It hurts to think Cecile won’t be with us to see the day we restore reproductive rights across America. Or finally unionize hotel workers in New Orleans. Or even elect the first woman president.
But because of her, those days will eventually come.
In recent years, Cecile had started wearing friendship bracelets with meaningful messages. One, which she wore every day, read: “Keep going.”
She knew, as I know: It is not always easy to keep going.
I know there were lots of times when Cecile just wanted to get in bed and pull the covers up over her head. Or tune out the news and spend a couple months doing nothing but reading mystery novels or making pies. But she never did.
Instead, after every win, she kept going.
After every loss, she kept going.
Even being diagnosed with brain cancer did not stop her. She co-founded a new organization, @AbortioninAmerica, to share the stories of people impacted by abortion bans. She traveled to Louisiana on the weekends to meet with women who had been denied essential health care, then fly back to New York for another week of grueling treatment, making calls from the hospital.
Just a couple weeks ago, she was hard at work again, planning to bring together hundreds of storytellers, journalists, and advocates next month in Austin. She wanted to make sure that gathering happened, whether or not she could be there.
Scripture tells us: “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.”
Or, as Cecile said: “When you’re fighting for justice, you lose, you lose, you lose—and then you win.”
So what choice is there but to keep going?
When you’re discouraged, keep going.
When things are hard, keep going.
When you get knocked down, get back up and keep going.
One thing I’m absolutely sure about is that Cecile wanted us to keep going.
So we will. | Posted on 02/Feb/2025 02:02:10
