[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 104 (Thursday, June 4, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S2718]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                PROTESTS

  Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I had asked to come and speak on the 
floor of the Senate on this day, June 4. I have been actually looking 
forward to it and planning speaking time for months now.
  June 4 is a significant day in the fight for women's suffrage. It was 
on June 4 of 1919 that Congress approved the amendment and sent it to 
the States for ratification, and then it was in 1920 that the 19th 
Amendment was ratified by the States.
  So this was to be a time of celebration, of recognition, of women's 
suffrage, this centennial event.
  Since that time that I first looked to schedule this, my, how the 
world has changed. We have been in the midst of a pandemic--over 
100,000 American lives lost to the COVID-19 virus. We are in the midst 
of an economic crisis the likes of which we haven't seen in decades and 
decades.
  And, just a week ago now, we witnessed the killing of George Floyd on 
our streets, in broad daylight. And today, June 4, is not only a 
recognition of women's suffrage, but it is the funeral of George Floyd.
  So before I speak to the matter I intended to speak on today, I want 
to just briefly comment on where I believe we are as a nation right 
now.
  I was walking into work this morning, and in my neighbor's yard is a 
placard, a yard sign. It has been there for some years, actually, now. 
It is a partial quote of Martin Luther King that states: ``We can't be 
silent about the things that matter.''
  You think about those things that matter: equality, justice, the 
fundamental truth that all human beings are created equal and endowed 
by God with certain rights. And when those rights are denied, when they 
are violated, it is our responsibility to address the injustice. It is 
not our responsibility as elected Members of the U.S. Senate; it is our 
responsibility as fellow humans, as Americans who believe in these 
principles of justice and equality.
  President Bush had some words this week that I found very direct, 
very comforting at a difficult time when it is hard to be comforted, 
when our spirits are so discomforted and agitated right now. But he 
reminded us that achieving justice for all is the duty of all. It is 
the duty of all.
  And we are hurting now as a nation. We have wounds from racism that 
have never been allowed to heal--and those words were just shared here 
on this floor moments ago--wounds that have never been allowed to heal, 
wounds that are still so open and raw. And healing can't take place 
until the hurt and the anger and the anguish that so many in this 
country still feel, so many African Americans, so many--so many who 
feel that the system is meant for somebody but not them; that there is 
not equal justice under the law; that it must be the law for somebody 
else.
  This has been hard--hard on all of us, as we have seen the protests, 
many of them peaceful. In my home State, Alaskans are coming together 
with a shared sense of duty and responsibility to speak up about things 
that matter and doing so in a way that brings us together rather than 
divides.
  We must condemn the violence we see on the street with the looting, 
but stopping the looting is not going to close this wound. We heal when 
we acknowledge our weaknesses, when we acknowledge our failures, and 
when we vow to address the things that matter, like equality and 
justice.
  What we say and how we say it truly matters. I have been challenged 
by some. I have been chastised by some very close friends who have 
said: You are silent, Lisa. Why are you silent? Why haven't you--you--
fixed what we are seeing?
  And I have struggled. I have struggled with the right words. As a 
White woman born and raised in Alaska with a family who was privileged, 
I can't feel that openness and rawness that I just heard expressed by 
my friends Cory and Kamala. I haven't lived their life.
  But I can listen, and I can educate myself. And I can try to be a 
healer at a time when we need to be healed. That is my commitment and 
my pledge going forward to those I serve in Alaska and to those I serve 
in this country.
  This is challenging for us. We know this, but we are an extraordinary 
country. We are an extraordinary people with extraordinary resilience.

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