The first time I saw Nina Turner speak was at the 2017 People’s Summit, a gathering of faithful Bernie Sanders supporters after his first presidential run, hosted by National Nurses United. It was well into the Trump presidency, and Turner was out to rouse the crowd to action.
RoseAnn DeMoro, then executive director of NNU, introduced her as the Sanders movement’s “spiritual leader.” She took the stage in a floor-length magenta dress and cat-eye glasses, and proceeded to rock the crowd like a combination of Martin Luther King Jr. and Iggy Pop. Halfway through her speech—punctuated, call-and-response-style, with the refrain “With these hands we will rise up”—she hopped off the stage and continued to speak while moving through the crowd, whipping them to a standing ovation, then dropping them to complete silence. Turner pointed out that when Black women like her speak out, “sometimes we are accused of being called angry.” She paused for emphasis. “This morning I am here to say to you my name is Nina Turner and I am an angry ass Black woman.” As the crowd roared its approval, she laughed and invited them to “be an angry Black woman” with her.
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