This past week Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez boldly took to the House floor Thursday and delivered a powerful speech aimed at the Republican member of Congress who accosted her on the Capitol steps.

AOC serves the 14th district of New York in the Bronx and Queens. She has extensive experience working in environments that prepared her to be successful in the position that she occupies today. She inspires the people because she is for the people. In this speech AOC spoke for more than just the Bronx and the Queens, she spoke for all of us. Every person who could relate to what she addressed in her speech was honored on that House floor.

Portions of her speech:

. . .I was walking up the steps of the Capitol when Representative Yoho . . accosted me on the steps right here in front of our nation’s Capitol. . .Representative Yoho put his finger in my face, he called me disgusting, he called me crazy, he called me out of my mind, and he called me dangerous. . . .I walked back out and there were reporters in the front of the Capitol and in front of reporters Representative Yoho called me, and I quote, “a f***ing b****.” These were the words that Representative Yoho levied against a congresswoman. The congresswoman that not only represents New York’s 14th Congressional District, but every congresswoman and every woman in this country. Because all of us have had to deal with this in some form, some way, some shape, at some point in our lives. . .This is not new, and that is the problem. Mr. Yoho was not alone. He was walking shoulder to shoulder with Representative Roger Williams, and that’s when we start to see that this issue is not about one incident. It is cultural. It is a culture of lack of impunity, of accepting of violence and violent language against women, and an entire structure of power that supports that. . . but what I do have issue with is using women, our wives and daughters, as shields and excuses for poor behavior.

We cannot let the sliver of progress that has been made up to this point make us believe we are completely where we need to be as a community, city, state, country, or world. We thank AOC and all of the women who are not on nationally recognized platforms. We thank the women who have these conversations behind closed doors, those who have lost jobs and relationships because they fought for themselves and others. We thank our allies, and we thank ourselves for fighting the good fight. We are #hustlers for ourselves and for the sake of one another.

Others may write us off as Rep. Yoho did to AOC, they may call us disgusting, crazy, out of our mind, and dangerous, but if it takes this to make change then so be it. Change isn’t easy. Dismantling a system and culture that has held power and control for centuries will not be light work, but thanks to women like AOC we move forward.

We are builders who are building a world that has never been built before.

-Cleo Wade