Georgia turns blue: Let's talk about why Black women always save us
It's not about “Black women saving us.”
While it is true, it’s a dangerous statement that makes me feel like I’m required to be Michael Jordan in game 7. And—to be clear—we ain’t getting paid any million dollar contracts to reimagine this democracy in the fourth quarter.
So let’s get to WHY we save us. It’s because Black and brown women actually believe in this shit more than anybody else. We believe in the possibility of systemic change and, in fact, our survival depends on this belief.
In 2018, Stacey Abrams’ run for governor of the state of Georgia transformed the electorate and in her words: achieved a dramatic increase in turnout.
“It was a systemic and, I think, sustainable change in the composition of the electorate and in the transformation of the narrative about Georgia and Georgia politics,” Abrams said.
Here’s what Jesse Jackson would say about her 2018 race:
“In many ways, she’s already won. Because the inspiration of people dashing off these plantations and voting for the first time, that means there will be more African-American sheriffs and state legislators and county executives. The coattails will reap a great harvest. The coattails will have a tremendous impact.”
And here we are, in 2020 with Joseph Biden riding the highs of Abrams’ coattails, of her commitment to change this country.
In 2019, The New York Times asked Abrams if she wanted to take time off to write another novel and she said she would love to, “but right now what’s calling me — and what this moment demands — is that I figure out how I can be most effective in preserving and advancing our democracy and challenging the policies and the politics that are continuing to exacerbate poverty.”
Y’all gonna wear us out. Because the only ones thinking about us is us.
Jenna Hanchard is an Emmy-award winning journalist, truth-seeker and equity advocate who has spent her career centering and amplifying diverse voices. This story originally appeared on her Instagram page.
