In November, a historically diverse Republican ticket beat back racism in Virginia, making Winsome Sears the first black, female lieutenant governor in the state's history. On Monday, Sears overcame a potentially racist and sexist prank to preside over the Virginia Senate.
An "unknown prankster" hid Sears's gavel in an attempt to prevent her from presiding over the state Senate, the Washington Post's Laura Vozzella reported Monday. But that didn't stop Sears, a Marine veteran and the first woman of color elected to state office. She removed her high-heeled patent leather pump and used it to call the Senate to order.
"Like a true Marine," one commenter wrote under Vozzella's tweet. "Semper Fi, ma'am."
The leather pump Sears fashioned into a gavel is expected to become an iconic symbol of feminism, much like the sneakers worn by Texas Democrat Wendy Davis during an 11-hour filibuster of anti-abortion legislation. The Washington Free Beacon in 2016 purchased Davis's shoes, described by commentators as a "talisman of feminism," for $120 .