Believe it or not, I found it on the sale rack at J. Crew last winter. I liked the bold blue color and thought maybe I'd wear it to the inauguration a few weeks later to celebrate.
Last week, I donated it to the Smithsonian. Its knees are still caked in dust from the night I spent cleaning trash and cigarette butts off of the rotunda floor in the Capitol building on January 6.
[In a tweet, Andy Kim is pictured holding up the blue suit he wore on January 6, shortly before donating it to the Smithsonian.]
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Holding the blue suit, perhaps for the last time, before I donated it to the Smithsonian. Click on the picture above for the full Twitter thread.
Honestly, I had seriously considered throwing it away until the Smithsonian called. That day still brings such terrible memories for me, and I knew I might never wear it again. When they called, I had to pull my car over and cry from the painful memories that our conversation brought back. Trauma still haunts all of us who were in the Capitol building that day.
But, the story of January 6 isn't just about violence, insurrection, and trauma. Like our country's story, that day was also full of hope, resilience, civility, and service. The simple, unremarkable steps I took to help clean up that trash the insurrectionists left behind sparked something much more significant. In the weeks that followed, I received thousands of cards and letters from folks across the country who were inspired or comforted by what they saw. I cherish every single one.
[A colorful illustration of Andy Kim, kneeling down to pick up trash from the Capitol Rotunda's floor on January 6.]
I never imagined that something as simple and reflexive as cleaning up a mess I saw could become inspirational to those like the artist who sent me this wonderful illustration.
I hope that's the fuller story my blue suit will help tell in some future exhibit at the Smithsonian. I also hope that the people who come to see their history up close will hear the full truth for themselves -- and that all of us will have learned from it, too.
We stand at a pivotal moment in our nation's history. Our partisan divide has grown so deep, it threatens to tear us apart. We saw that on full display on January 6, and we must do more to ensure nothing like that can ever happen again. That means working with Congress to protect our Capitol. But it also means all of us working together to find common ground across the country.
That common ground is closer than you might realize, too. I can clearly see the disconnect between the partisan wars being waged in DC and my friends and neighbors in my so-called “swing district” in NJ-03. We are honestly all just exhausted by the endless cycles of misinformation and outrage.
It's a mess, for sure -- and it's all of ours to clean up together. That's what our people-powered movement is working on every day in the same South Jersey community where I grew up. So, thanks for all you're doing to help me do my part. Your support means more to me than I can say.
-- Andy
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