Cory Booker’s Captain America Moment: All Rhetoric, No Rescue

Senator Cory Booker broke the record for the longest speech on the Senate floor, spending 25 hours reprimanding the Trump administration for its all-out assault on civil rights, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), and its blatant disregard for democracy. While it’s tempting to celebrate this moment, we should be cautious not to overstate its impact—especially in such perilous and fragile times. Cory Booker’s record-breaking speech is more political theater than substantive action.

Rhetoric without action is powerless, and it’s why DEI initiatives are so easily dismantled—they’re often empty from the start. Booker’s speech may have made headlines, but it leaves the underlying systems of power untouched.

I offer three points to consider what Cory Booker’s speech really means.

1. It’s Not a Filibuster—It’s a Performance

Let’s get one thing straight: Cory Booker did not filibuster the Senate. A filibuster is defined as an “action designed to prolong debate and delay or prevent a vote on a bill.” Booker’s 25-hour speech didn’t delay any legislative action. Instead, it was a symbolic gesture, intended more to call out Trump and elevate Booker’s own political profile than to enact change.

Yes, it’s notable that Booker displayed passion, stamina, and determination. But let’s not confuse passion with progress. It’s worth remembering that the previous record holder, Strom Thurmond, set the record while filibustering the Civil Rights Act of 1957—a bill the current administration is working to undo. A historic irony, sure, but does this comparison actually change anything?

Booker’s speech was intended to position him as a leader and a moral voice, but a marathon speech does not equal meaningful resistance.

Let’s not mistake political theater for transformative action. Neoliberal, career politicians are not freedom fighters.

2. Cory Booker Is Not Sam Wilson

Sam Wilson, the Marvel superhero who takes up the shield of Captain America, is the second mainstream Black superhero after Black Panther. Unlike Steve Rogers, Wilson has no superhuman abilities—just his mechanical wings and the iconic vibranium shield. Even in fiction, Black people are expected to do twice as much to get half the recognition.

Cory Booker, in aspiring to follow in the footsteps of the first Black president, Barack Obama, must do more than call out the obvious. He needs to develop a progressive political agenda that moves beyond rhetoric and drives radical change. Instead, Booker’s neoliberal politics—including his unwavering support of Israel amid the ongoing apartheid against Palestinians—undermine any claim to being a champion of justice.

During his time as mayor of Newark, a predominantly Black city, the education system remained one of the worst in the nation—a reality that doesn’t align with the image of a political hero. While calling out Trump’s actions is important, we shouldn’t conflate grandstanding with progress.

3. Superheroes Won’t Save Us

In a previous piece, I highlighted how the rise of celebrity political influencers and the obsession with image over substance often prevents real change. Cory Booker’s 25-hour speech is just the latest example of this hollow performance.

For years, Barack Obama has lamented the double standards of his presidency compared to Donald Trump’s. Obama’s critiques are often incisive and pointed. But what do these words mean if they aren’t followed by action? Booker’s speech feels like another entry in this tradition—eloquent rhetoric that leaves power structures untouched.

Meanwhile, those same systems continue their full assault on DEI, academic autonomy, and basic human rights. We are left with speeches when we need structural change.

The truth is, if real progress is going to happen, it won’t come from politicians like Booker or even from Obama, whose legacy often reflects a preference for symbolic gestures over transformative action. It also won’t come from Bernie Sanders or Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who may push harder for change but are ultimately constrained by the same broken systems.

We've seen moments like this before. During the height of the Civil Rights Movement, as activists on the ground grew weary of brutal repression and minimal progress, even iconic leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. faced criticism from those they sought to uplift for lacking tangible strategies. Today, while echoes of that frustration remain, we are contending with a different beast—one whose blatant disregard for law and common decency threatens the very foundations of our democracy. As Michael Eric Dyson explains, “The solutions proffered in the name of progressive racial faith—change in law, change in policy—have no answer for the hate that trumps law, the bigotry that adapts to whatever law is on the books and finds a way to twist it to its advantage.”

This is the reality that grand speeches fail to address. A broken system doesn’t respond to moral appeals or rhetorical flourishes—it evolves to preserve itself. While Booker’s 25-hour speech may have been stirring, passion alone isn’t enough. The enemy we face now requires strategies rooted in collective power, structural change, and action beyond the podium.

Change will come from movements powered by everyday people—like Black Lives Matter, MeToo, and the Dream Defenders. These coalitions, cutting across race, class, and identity lines, are actively resisting fascism and holding politicians accountable.

We can’t keep waiting for superheroes. Real change comes from organized, collective action—not from speeches that make headlines but leave systems intact. Booker may have broken a record, but real resistance requires breaking systems.