John,
I have to take you to this incredible day on the United States Senate floor — a little behind the scenes on the day that we were confirming Ketanji Brown Jackson.
99 senators had voted, and I am pacing the Senate floor.
Why?
Because I’m desperately trying not to cry.
Now, Reverend Warnock comes over to me.
He goes, “Brother Booker, it looks like you’re struggling. Need some prayer?”
But at that moment, a staffer runs over to us with some urgency.
The presiding officer who happens to be there to break the tie would like to see the two of you.
The presiding officer is Kamala Harris.
She smiles at us and she goes, “Fellas, this is such a historic moment. I want you to write a letter to a little girl somewhere and tell them how meaningful this moment in history is.”
And then she opens her little leather book. And there were only two pieces of her stationary left there with her seal, the Vice Presidential seal, and her name, Kamala Harris, on the top.
And I’m thinking about, who do I write this letter to?
A week goes by, and I still have this blank stationery.
And then, it finally came to me. I realized that what Kamala Harris was asking me was bigger than this vaunted piece of paper.
You see, every single one of us on this campaign is here because our ancestors wrote their letter.
They didn’t use pen and paper.
They didn’t use ink.
They used their sweat. They used their tears at times. They used their blood.
They wrote their letter.
Kamala said it’s your turn now. You’re on history’s stage for such a brief moment before your light goes out.
Write your letter.
Not by what you say, but by what you do.
And when I walk into these rooms, I feel good.
Because you all are writing a letter about democracy preserving. You all are writing your letter about the American dream being available for every American.
Let it be a letter that said no matter what the odds, I didn’t give up.
Let it be a letter that says I knocked on doors, that I wrote letters, that I made phone calls.
We have hours left before this election. What we do will speak to generations yet unborn. It’s time for us to vote. We’re calling in this moment to write our letter.
Let’s write it about reproductive freedom. Let’s write our letter that says we elected Kamala Harris as our President of the United States of America.
Let’s write our letter:
With love and gratitude,
Cory
