A senate RESOLUTION

TO RECOGNIZE SENATOR MIA S. MCLEOD FOR HER CONSCIENTIOUS STAND FOR WOMEN'S HEALTHCARE AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS IN SOUTH CAROLINA, FOR WHICH SHE WAS HONORED WITH THE JOHN F. KENNEDY PROFILE IN COURAGE® AWARD.

Whereas, on October 29, 2023, at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston, Massachusetts, Ambassador Caroline Kennedy and her children, Jack Schlossberg and Tatiana Schlossberg, presented the 2023 John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage® Award to five women state senators from South Carolina, among them Senator Mia McLeod; and

Whereas, Senator McLeod and Senators Katrina Shealy, Margie Bright Matthews, Sandy Senn, and Penry Gustafson and were honored for forming a bipartisan coalition to filibuster legislation they believed would unduly curtail women's healthcare and reproductive rights in the State. This unlikely coalition, deemed the "Sister Senators," was formed across party lines, consisting of the only women in the South Carolina State Senate at the time, Independent Senator Mia McLeod, one Democratic Senator, and three Republicans; and

Whereas, the 2023 Profile in Courage® Award honors leaders, like Senator McLeod, who took a stand of conscience by putting the public interest ahead of their own political standing. These women faced intense opposition and personal attacks while working together and across the aisle to defeat a total ban and oppose a near-total ban on abortion, and in the immediate aftermath of their filibuster, the Sister Senators were heckled and harassed by anti- abortion activists; and

Whereas, despite this opposition, the women of the South Carolina Senate exemplified conviction and collaboration in politics by seeking justice and individual freedom at all levels of government, earning them the honor and distinction of this coveted award; and

Whereas, the Profile in Courage® Award, designed by Edwin Schlossberg, is a sterling silver lantern symbolizing a beacon of hope and courage. When Senator McLeod accepted this award, she stated that when it comes to ensuring that South Carolina women and girls are safe, seen, and supported, that the political courage shown by the Sister Senators should be the norm, not the exception. Regardless of how it impacted them politically, she felt that they chose to do what was right because it was right; and

Whereas, in her acceptance speech, Senator McLeod described herself as a strong, confident, brave Black woman, a proud mom to her amazing sons, BJ and Cam, a small business owner, a state Senator, trailblazer, sickle cell warrior, sexual assault survivor, and unapologetic status quo disruptor; and

Whereas, Senator McLeod is a graduate of the University of South Carolina where she earned a bachelor's degree in 1990 and a juris doctorate from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1995. Elected to serve in the House of Representatives from 2011 to 2016, Senator McLeod has been a member of the Senate since 2017. She is an Independent from Richland County and serves on the Corrections and Penology, Judiciary, Medical Affairs, Rules, and Transportation Committees, and was nominated and invited into the Aspen Institute's distinguished Rodel Fellowship in 2017; and

Whereas, when away from her duties in the Senate, she serves as CEO of McLeod Butler Communications and is an active member of Embodeed Church; and

Whereas, the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage® award is the first global award and recognition that Senator McLeod has been bestowed while serving in the South Carolina Senate; and

Whereas, only sixty people in the world had received the prestigious John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage® Award before Senator McLeod and her Sister Senators were selected by a distinguished bipartisan committee of national, political, and community leaders, and the South Carolina Senate congratulates their colleague, Senator McLeod, for being honored with this prestigious award for political courage.  Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the Senate:

That the members of the South Carolina Senate, by this resolution, recognize Senator Mia S. McLeod for her conscientious stand for women's healthcare and reproductive rights in South Carolina, for which she was honored with the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage® Award.

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to Senator Mia S. McLeod.

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