When Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez learned Wednesday she would only be given one minute to speak at next week's virtual Democratic National Convention, she tweeted the poem “I have only just a minute,” written by late civil rights leader Dr. Benjamin E. Mays. That tweet attracted a bit of unexpected attention.
The attention was paid by her second-grade teacher, who goes by @mjacobs324 on Twitter. “You've got this,” the educator tweeted. “Remember all those poems we recited together in 2nd grade? It was prep for this moment. You've got this.”
It made the educator’s day when the progressive New York legislator responded. Jacobs tweeted: “One of my lowest days this summer, worried about my teaching future. And then this:”
”Ms. Jacobs! Is that you?!” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted. “Yes, I do remember the poems we recited in second grade! You prepared me perfectly for this moment. Thank you for teaching me, encouraging my growth, and believing in me as a child”
Jacobs responded:
”Yes, yes!!! It's me! I'm here. I've been here. (Trying to reach you for the past 2 years...) You are my superhero! I want to give you a hug when hugs are safe again. Always always here for you. xoxoxoxoxo PS Sometime I can share the page you wrote in my end-of-year teacher book.”
Ocasio-Cortez was asked to deliver a prerecorded speech approved by the Democratic National Convention while fellow Democrats like Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and former Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg are being allowed live, virtual speeches, according to Business Insider. It is a move that earned the convention much criticism online.
"Someone please tell me this ain’t true. Please tell me that @AOC does not have a literal sixty seconds to deliver remarks at the @DNC Convention?? Tell me it ain’t so. 🤦🏻♀️" tweeted author and co-chairwoman of the 2017 Women's March Linda Sarsour.
Nabilah Islam, who unsuccessfully ran to represent Georgia's 7th congressional district in June, tweeted: "REPUBLICAN John Kasich is getting more time to speak at the DEMOCRATIC national Convention than @AOC. That is all."
The convention, planned to run Monday through Thursday, will be streamed online and also feature former President Barack Obama, former First Lady Michelle Obama, former President Bill Clinton, former Sec. of State Hillary Clinton, and of course, former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris.
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