We’ve had a heck of a year—the dying dinosaur continues to roar.
But civilization, true civilization, forges ahead.
And Black women are leading the way.
Case in point: Ms. Stacey Abrams, a beacon of a civil democratic society in which everyone who wishes to, gets their voice heard, where every vote counts.
I’ll admit, very often I’m quite late to political parties.
But once I arrive, I’m all in, partying with the best!!
Stacey Abrams is the very best.
She has shown herself time and again, to be About the People, For the People, and With the People.
So, I’m calling it!!
Although TIME’s Person of the Year is twelve months away I am declaring Stacey Adams the winner.
I suspect that those of you who read this blog will be well-aware of her work.
But, as is always my desire, I share myriad examples of our brilliance.
Abrams is brilliant.
Check out a couple of articles: one about her importance as a political strategist and relatedly, the other about her latest victory.
“Stacey Abrams: The Political Strategist Who Won Georgia”
“For Stacey Abrams, Revenge is a Dish Best Served Blue”
To learn more about the woman behind the name I watched the documentary, All In: The Fight for Democracy (2020), produced by Abrams and available on Prime Video.
Here’s a preview:
The fact that the film is behind a pay wall is unfortunate. It should be widely available for free or low cost, because knowledge is power. Understanding that the voter suppression that we have seen reinvigorated in the past few years is out of a playbook that has been wielded by those who hold onto their power with a death grip for centuries is critical to our ability to resist it.
All In is not just about Abrams. It is inextricably about the long American tradition of exclusion and suppression that has been kept in place through the deployment of ideological, psychological, political, economic, and physical violence.
I appreciate this fact about the film as an extension of what I have witnessed over and again in Abrams’ words and deeds: that the fight that she has taken on is not just about her. But it is about us all if we, as a nation, hope to ever live up to the promise of democracy (a challenge that the great Frederick Douglass issued back in 1852 with his speech, “What to the Slave is The Fourth of July?“)
We’re still asking that question almost 200 years later.
Abrams’ hard work in Georgia has paid off, paving the way for the Senate victories by Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock, both Democrats, solidifying Georgia’s political transformation, and ensuring that President-elect Joe Biden will have an easier job.
I encourage you to check out All In: The Fight for Democracy. It is heartbreaking and enlightening. It will put into perspective the shameful and disgusting behavior we saw unfold at the capitol building a few days ago.
The organization that Abrams founded, Fair Fight PAC, promotes fair elections in Georgia and around the country, encourages voter participation in elections, and educates voters about elections and their voting rights. The organization brings awareness to the public on election reform, advocates for election reform at all levels, and engages in other voter education programs and communications.
To end this post I share with you a video that I very gratefully received in my inbox the morning after the Georgia elections and that reminded me of another amazing Black woman, Ella Fitzgerald.
Enjoy!!
Alligator Woods 