Sheila Jackson Lee: “Having worked for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and been engaged with many of the foot soldiers that…”

“Having worked for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and been engaged with many of the foot soldiers that studied under Dr. Martin Luther King, I love and cherish nonviolent protests and the rights for people to petition. I hold up a beautiful and powerful statement by way of a picture, powerful together, as thousands marched across the Nation, upwards of 1 million and maybe even more. I am particularly proud of those in Houston, Texas, and particularly ``Across Texas, marchers `just can't be silent anymore.' '' Congratulations to those who marched safely, securely, and nonviolently. Congratulations to the Houston organizers. Yes, it is your right to fight against the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, the ignoring of the funding of access to women's health care. It is your right to fight for educational opportunity. It is your right to recognize that we have rights as women, but we have rights as Americans; and it is your right to seek a nation that will be representative of all of the people, no matter where they come from, what their religious background is, what regions they live for. It is beyond the wonderful Midwest that the Nation needs to be represented. It is in the far corners of the east and the north, yes, down in Houston, Texas, far to the west. We cannot isolate and say we won with few votes from this region. America is a country for all people, and I look forward to this Congress and this White House representing all of us.…”