As he broke a record set when Thurmond stood against the Civil Rights Act, Booker said, "I'm not here, though, because of his speech. I'm here despite his speech. I'm here because, as powerful as he was,

Strom Thurmond bragged for years about dehydrating his body to prepare for his speech opposing the Civil Rights Act. He didn’t talk about his Black daughter, though.

Cory Booker wrote himself into the Senate annals Tuesday, setting a new record for the chamber’s longest speech when he held the floor for more than 24 hours and surpassed the late Sen. Strom Thurmond’s 1957 filibuster against civil rights.