Cory Booker Met the Moment

The senator’s record-breaking speech reminds us that voice is still a form of resistance

By Michael Franklin

I always tell folks that the best speeches are usually short. Under 15 minutes if you can help it. I give this advice because it reflects how people take in information today: they’re scrolling, multitasking, and listening with one ear.

But now and then, someone breaks that rule of thumb—and makes it worth it. Right now, that someone is Senator Cory Booker. After holding the Senate floor for a record-breaking 25 hours, Sen. Booker didn’t just deliver a speech. He created a moment. He recognized that elected leaders carry the power and responsibility to shape not just politics, but narrative—to challenge complacency and speak in ways that move people to care, act, and believe.

There’s a lot of talk these days about political theater. It’s often used to discredit people—suggesting they’re performing for show rather than acting from substance. But we forget that political theater is sometimes necessary. Every day, the White House doesn't wake up with the attitude of governing; they wake up with the focus of getting ratings and dividing us. We need a little theater of our own to remind people that we have agency and that when we shake the table, we can get things done. We’re all watching the same headlines. We’re all feeling some version of fear, fatigue, or fury. And the question is: What are we doing with it?

I often think back to our history. The Civil Rights Movement wasn’t just marches—it was sermons. It was speeches. It was language that gave people the courage to act. It brought visibility to the pain that made people feel invisible until it was named out loud. Narrative power is real power. It’s how we move people before we move systems.

Sen. Booker understood how messages move in today’s media landscape and ensured his team was ready to meet this moment. And their strategy is working. Because even if you didn’t tune in for all 25 hours (most of us didn’t), you may have seen the clips, the quotes, the TikToks, the retweets, and the memes. His message is everywhere.

The power of this moment in media is that one person’s unfiltered passion can ripple across every platform. Yesterday, one of the nation’s highest elected officials used that power to remind us of the resonance and moral clarity in using one’s voice to serve the public and our collective good.

Right now there are people in power doing everything they can to roll back our freedoms. They want us distracted, disconnected, and discouraged. And if we’re silent, that’s how they win. It’s no accident that two of the most significant acts of political resistance by elected officials have come in relation to a speech: Senator Booker’s historic stand and Congressman Al Green’s interruption at the State of the Union.

For Black men in public life, these moments carry even more weight. There’s always a tightrope: say too little, and you’re complicit; say too much, and you’re seen as a threat. The balance is delicate. And that’s a lesson for all of us. A lesson that shows if we care about justice, fairness, and people, we have to show it.

Because when your values speak louder than your fear, when your voice cuts through the noise, and when your presence matches your purpose—that’s where change begins. Especially when someone is trying to take something from us.

It doesn’t have to be the biggest stage. You don’t need a podium or a press conference to make your voice matter. You can speak up in your school, your group chat, or your community meeting. You can choose to stay silent—or you can decide that your story, truth, and passion are worth being heard. Sometimes, leadership looks like a well-prepared speech. Sometimes, it looks like a perfectly timed interruption. Either way, it’s about knowing what you stand for—and standing in it.

Our voices are one of our strongest tools, not just when things are going great but especially when they’re not. You don’t have to be on the Senate floor to be heard. You just have to decide that your voice is worth using.

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Michael Franklin is the Founder and Chief Thought Leadership Officer of Words Normalize Behavior, a speechwriting, executive communications, and coalition-building agency.