June 22, 2021

Special to BuzzFlash by Spenser Seddon

This week’s BuzzFlash “Wings of Justice” Award goes to Stacey Abrams – the esteemed progressive political leader and voting rights activist. While Abrams tends to be a consistent (and very welcome) presence in the media these days, now feels like a particularly fitting time to pay homage to Abrams as we stare down the challenges ahead for voting rights and our collective effort to preserve something resembling democracy in the US. It’s our privilege and pleasure to recognize Stacey Abrams and show our gratitude for her ongoing work and influence.

While Ms. Abrams really needs no introduction here and now, it’s worth noting the fact of Abrams’ deep experience and extensive training as a lawyer, writer, and public servant in Georgia preceding her rise to national acclaim. Abrams spent over a decade serving in the Georgia House of Representatives – with seven of those years as the Democratic minority leader – working to support Georgians with legislative policy and progressive advocacy that kept working people and the public interest front of mind.

It’s Abrams’ trailblazing run as the Democratic nominee for Georgia Governor in 2018, however, that really launched her into the national spotlight. Running against Republican (and, infamously, then-Secretary of State) Brian Kemp, Abrams and her campaign necessarily navigated fraudulent stunts and tricks from Kemp’s camp before finally facing the problem of the election itself, with its engineered irregularity and dysfunction. As Georgia’s Secretary of State, Kemp oversaw the purging of 1.4 million voters from the state’s rolls between 2012 and 2018 – predominantly affecting people of color, cancelling those voters’ registrations without giving notice – all leading up to the election, wherein Abrams ostensibly lost by a mere 50,000 votes. Reduced availability and hours for polling places, strict voter ID requirements, and slow processing of “pending” voter registrations were among other factors bearing on the gubernatorial election – suppressive mechanisms and policies all, and all occurring under the auspices of the Republican Secretary of State’s office.

In the face of Kemp’s malfeasance and the election’s fallout, it is to Stacey Abrams’ enduring credit that she established Fair Fight, her voting rights advocacy organization, set out within the same speech wherein she ended her campaign for governor. Beginning with taking Kemp and his ilk to task in court, Fair Fight and Abrams have since continued and greatly expanded their work as leading agents and advocates in the fight against voter suppression. A grassroots operation with a progressive sensibility, Fair Fight is one of the key groups that’s been doing the daily work of reaching out and keeping up with people in seeking to increase voter turnout and civic engagement, make voter registration more accessible, support election workers, ensure votes are accurately counted, and advocate for policy and candidates that align with democratic values.

And ultimately, that work – going out into communities, meeting folks where they’re at, listening, and bringing them into the fold – is what seems to have made all the difference lately. It’s that kind of work which compels our gratitude for and solidarity with Stacey Abrams and Fair Fight – because that’s the work that ultimately gave us a new Democratic president, Democratic majorities in Congress, and the relief they’ve afforded all Americans since January. It may feel like ancient history now, given how exhausting this year has been, but it’s crucial to remember that. It was Stacey Abrams and her organized allies who helped mobilize voters and activists to deliver Georgia’s electoral votes for Biden, Georgia’s two Senate seats for the Democrats, and the consequent Democratic majority’s ability to pass crucial, desperately needed legislation to truly tackle the effects of the pandemic. Stopping to look back, Abrams’ contribution is hard to overstate.

Looking to what’s ahead, though, we can all see that more challenges are yet to come. Now that the GOP has been reminded of what the popular left and an engaged electorate can do, they’re digging in their antidemocratic heels to cling to power and the “Big Lie” – and they won’t fight fair. Stacey Abrams’ experience with Kemp’s malfeasance and voter suppression in Georgia presaged what we’re now facing from the GOP all across the nation, and it’s critical that we heed the lessons of that experience and adapt them as we press on.

Fortunately, Abrams continues to help lead the way as we navigate unprecedented terrain ahead – in the courts, on the streets, at the ballot box, and in legislatures nationwide. While the last several months of Republican obstructionism and power-grabbing at the federal, state, and local levels make clear why it’s vital to try to pass the “For The People” Act, Abrams has done us another favor by emphasizing the merits of being politically practical, too. With her carefully framed support for Sen. Joe Manchin’s attempt at a voting rights “compromise” bill, Abrams is demonstrating a measure of good faith and savvy while acknowledging the urgency of the existential threat that Democrats (and our democracy) are up against. Like the value of Abrams’ contributions in the last few years, the importance of our adapting to meet this moment seems hard to overstate, too.

It’s encouraging to know that leaders and organizers like Stacey Abrams stay at it, striving to sustain and affirm our democratic values and institutions in these times. They need our support and solidarity, now more than ever. Here’s to the work to come – and here’s to you, Stacey Abrams!

Spenser Seddon is a writer, editor, and marketing & communications professional based in Seattle.

BuzzFlash is once again honoring upstanding & outstanding people with our Wings of Justice recognition! Read the full collection of recent honorees here, and peruse selections archived from our original website here.

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