Part 3: Nevertheless, She Persisted
You might have noticed that the title of this series is a play on a quote by Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell when he silenced, or attempted to silence, Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren. She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted. This was supposed to be a derogatory remark, essentially painting Warren as a shrill, power hungry woman who wouldn’t stay in her place. Except, Warren and her vast legion of followers and women in general turned it on its head. It became a rallying cry, a movement. Persist. Don’t let ignorance or misogynists win. Nevertheless, she persisted is the name of several monthly playlists I have made; it’s printed on several shirts and, lately, it’s run through my head every time I read the news.
History, like a woman who refuses to stay in her place or anyone who refuses to stand idly by and watch injustice and tyranny occur, persists. It’s never going to go away. Sure, they say history is written by the victors. But we have learned not to always trust that the writers got it right the first time. We are learning every day about Black people and women in male dominated fields whose accomplishments were written over to put the spotlight on their more palatable (at the time) contemporaries. The best part is that the resources to find the truth are right at your fingertips, in your pocket, at your library. There is no stopping you if you want to learn what happened in the past and to learn from the mistakes people made long ago.
There are unsung heroes everywhere if you wish to look for them. It’s so easy to fall into hopelessness and despair when you read the news and think that this is the worst it’s ever been. As the governor of Illinois, JB Pritzker, said in a speech on Monday, August 25, “This country has survived darker periods than the one that we are going through right now, and eventually the pendulum will swing back…” And it will. It might not seem like it right now, or even this month. But at some point, the pendulum of time, history, and power will swing back the way it’s supposed to go.
That being said, there are things that you can do to help. You can help people in need, you can protest Trump and his establishment, and you can listen and learn so you are better able to fight back. Below are some resources for places to volunteer and donate to, as well as contact for more information on how to move that pendulum a little bit faster:
As always, you can donate to groups that help those whose rights are being taken away or infringed upon by the government, such as the Human Rights Campaign, the Transgender Law Center, Planned Parenthood, the NAACP, and the Sherlock’s Homes Foundation
And keep calling your senators, representatives, and state representatives. Just keep pushing.
Most importantly, keep learning, keep reading, keep one eye on history so we can make sure we don’t repeat it. Learning and reading give us the wonderful skills of compassion and empathy. Without those, we can’t move forward.
That’s what this new series is, in a way. A way to spread knowledge about people who came before and who fought the good fight. With this being the end of the introduction, we look onward to meeting some interesting people. As Martin Luther King Jr. said,
“We are not the makers of history. We are made by history.”
Sources:
Nevertheless, she persisted. (2017, September 11). https://www.theadvocatesforhumanrights.org/News/A/Index?id=135
Team, C. C. (2025, August 26). Full text of Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s speech at news conference on reported Trump military plan for Chicago. CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/illinois-governor-jb-pritzker-speech-news-conference-full-text-trump/
Martin Luther King, jr. - we are not makers of history. we... (n.d.-a). https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/martin_luther_king_jr_115052
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