Rally takes on The Circle in Georgetown

Dozens of protestors gathered at The Circle in Georgetown Feb. 12 for a “We Shall Not Be Silenced” rally hosted by the Sussex County Democratic Party and the Progressive Democrats of Sussex County.

Protestors stood in solidarity with U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who was silenced by Republican senators during her attempt to read Coretta Scott King’s letter opposing the 1986 nomination of Jeff Sessions for federal judge.

“Last week, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell silenced Sen. Elizabeth Warren from reading that letter,” said Joanne Cabry of the Progressive Democrats of Sussex County, eliciting loud boos from the crowd. “We are here today to publicly give notice to Mitch McConnell that we will not be silenced... We will not be intimidated. We will not be frightened. And we will remember the 52 senators who gave us Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a man who called the Voting Rights Act of 1965 an intrusive piece of legislation.”

Several participants read the entirety of King's letter, which states, “It is my strongly held view that the appointment of Jefferson Sessions to the federal bench would irreparably damage the work of my husband … and countless others who risked their lives and freedom … to ensure equal participation in our democratic system.”

The hour-long event was largely peaceful, although one truck circled the rally with a massive Trump campaign sign in its bed and at least two passersby shouted at protestors in dissent.

The protestors were not dissuaded.

“This enthusiasm has to continue all the way to the polls,” Jane Hovington, chair of the Sussex County Democratic Party, said as she paused the crowd from chants of “No ban! No wall!” and “We will not be silenced!”

“I wish I could say times have changed, but we can't,” Cabry said after the reading. “In fact, Sessions was denied a federal judgeship. In 1986, they thought him too much of a racist to be a federal judge. But in 2017, he is our attorney general.”

“We will be back here in this circle, I am sure,” she said. “Resistance is wonderful, but we must persist. And that is the key.”

The reading on The Circle was followed by a brief march to the Sussex County Democratic headquarters on Pine Street, where people met with local party leaders to discuss political issues.

For more about the Sussex County Democratic Party, go to www.deldems.org.