In this midterm election season, Stacy Abrams distinguished herself as America's first African American female nominee for state governor when she won Georgia's democratic primary in the spring. She stands out during an election season in which a notable number of women have run for office and won primaries.
Abrams, a former state House of Representatives majority leader, recently visited Little Rock to talk about her campaign. The Empowerment Initiative was unable to attend, so we are sharing some emails from her that give a look into her campaign ... which, if successful, will be one for the history books indeed.
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Sunday, August 19, 2018 Every right worth having is a right worth fighting for
Renarda –
Progress is possible,
but it is fragile – and across our country, the battles for our most basic
civil rights rage on.
For example, you may
have recently heard about Randolph County, Georgia. Located in the southwest
region of the state, Randolph's poverty rate is far north of the national
average. The area is mostly rural, predominantly Black, and frequently
forgotten. Last week, the Randolph County Board of Elections proposed closing seven of its nine polling locations before November. In areas with no public transportation, some residents would be forced to walk over three hours to exercise their constitutional right to vote.
This is unacceptable,
but we've seen these voter suppression tactics before.
We live in a nation
that spent centuries denying the right to vote to the poor, to women, and to
people of color. Georgia then spent decades creating barriers to prevent these
historically-disenfranchised communities from exercising their constitutional
right. But a proposal to eliminate nearly every polling location in a Black
Belt county belongs in a history textbook, not the current events section.
So, how did we end up
here? In short, elections have consequences. Five years ago, the Supreme Court
struck down the beating heart and enforcement arm of the Voting Rights Act of
1965. The court's ruling in Shelby v. Holder allows state and local governments
with a history of voting rights violations to pass voting laws at their own
discretion. Election boards, like the one in Randolph County, have carte
blanche to eliminate polling locations, change election rules, and propose
unfair maps – just as they did before 1965.
With Shelby, bad actors
were given the head of our democracy on a golden platter – the unprecedented
ability to silence voters in small towns and rural counties where the fewest
number of people are watching. But here's the thing: We're watching, and we're fighting back. Because we know that our ancestors fought too hard and bled too much for us to cede our right to vote just because it is hard. This issue is extremely personal for me. I grew up hearing my parents' stories about how they had to fight for their right to vote in the Jim Crow South. They registered voters in Mississippi at a time when doing so was dangerous, and their bravery influenced my decision to create the New Georgia Project to register every eligible voter in the state.
When I founded the New
Georgia Project in 2014, there were 800,000 Georgians of color who did not have
the right to vote – not because they weren't eligible, but because no one had
asked them. When we asked people to register to vote, they stepped up: The
organization submitted more than 200,000 voter registrations in two years.
Our ability to
participate in government, to elect our leaders and to improve our lives, is
contingent upon our ability to access the ballot. We know in our heart of
hearts that voting is a sacred right – the fount from which all other rights
flow. Now, it's time to live that truth through our actions.
Stories from places
like Randolph County should not discourage us, but instead motivate us to fight
harder, march further, and shout louder: No vote will go uncounted, no matter
how hard they try.
To write the next
chapter of our state's history, to build a brighter future for ourselves and
our families, we have a lot of work to do.
Stacey Abrams
***
August 24, 2018
Breaking: Randolph County
Renarda,
This morning, the
Randolph County Board of Elections rejected the plan to close 7 of 9 polling
locations before November.
Make no mistake:
[This was due to] activists down in South Georgia who organized, collected signatures, and
petitioned their elected leaders. Folks who elevated this story to the national
level, who were ready to drive people they've never met to polling locations in
a county they didn’t know before last week.
Although we celebrate
this victory today, our work continues. Many residents of Randolph County will
still have trouble casting a ballot on Election Day. Many more still don't have
a reason to get out and try. And unfortunately, Randolph County is but one of
many Georgia counties considering plans making it harder to vote.
Decisions to close
polling locations are not a matter of cost, but a question of priorities. Your
right to vote is priceless, and all of us have to keep fighting to protect it.
Efforts to suppress the
vote or depress voter turnout should make us outraged and activated, not complacent.
We fought – and won – for Randolph County. Now, let's win for all of Georgia.
Stacey Abrams
***
Monday, August 27, 2018
I am not afraid
Renarda,
As I travel across
Georgia to earn every vote, I am sometimes asked, "What is your greatest
fear in this election?"My parents prepared me for this. They showed me how to hold my head high in the face of doubt. Through their example – as ordained ministers, as activists, and as community leaders – they taught my five siblings and me to speak out when we see a problem, then lead the charge to solve it. I am not afraid because I believe in Georgia. Our state isn't perfect, but our problems are solvable – and Georgians are ready and willing to tackle the challenges we face.
What we are able to
accomplish over the next 71 days will give more families the chance to get
ahead. And what we raise before the end of August will determine what our team
can do in September – when voters begin casting mail-in ballots.
Georgians will begin
voting in three weeks, but I am not afraid. I am not afraid because you are
with me. And although the road to Election Day will be tough, and although we
have an extraordinary amount of work ahead of us, we know what we need to do.
Stacey Abrams
***
Wednesday, August 29, 2018
We've never let "impossible" stop us
before, and we're not going to let it stop us now
Renarda,
Last week, I was in
South Georgia. I talked with teachers in Donaldsonville, hosted a town hall
with college students in Valdosta, heard from small business owners in
Fitzgerald and Albany, and discussed environmental issues with farmers in
Camilla.No matter the audience, I was humbled by the welcome I received and energized by folks ready for change. 
But for every person
who is fired up about our campaign, there are many more who haven't tuned in
yet. Thousands of families in Georgia don't know that our economy, our health
care, and our public schools are on the ballot in November – not because they
don't care, but because no one has reached out to them yet.
We're going to change
that. Here's how: We've spent the last 14 months reaching out to voters in every part of Georgia. This summer, we've more than doubled our efforts. But to transform Georgia, to fundamentally alter the status quo, we have to change who votes. We have to expand the electorate and give folks far beyond I-75 and I-20 a reason to cast a ballot.
Energizing Georgians
and reaching millions of new and infrequent voters only seems daunting because
it's never been done before. But #TeamAbrams has never let
"impossible" stop us – and with only 69 days left, we're not about to
let it stop us now.
I know my team has sent
you a lot of emails this week, but this is important. We send these messages
because our voter outreach program depends on small dollar contributions from
supporters like you. And families across the state are counting on us to win.
What we're building is
about more than "winning." It's about improving lives. It's about
meeting people where they are and pushing them to believe in the power of their
vote. And it's about all of us investing in the future of our nation.
Stacey Abrams
***
Thursday, August 30, 2018
NOTE: Stacey Abrams' college friend Edana Walker made
the following comments about Abrams in this email.
Stacey stayed ready
Renarda,
Watching those returns
come in on primary election night – reading the text “Stacey Abrams, Democratic
nominee for governor" onscreen for the very first time – it all came full
circle for me.The first time I voted for Stacey Abrams was in April of 1993. She was running for student government at Spelman College. 25 years later, I voted (early) for Stacey Abrams in Georgia's gubernatorial primary.  That's me in lilac (left) and Stacey (right) at Spelman, 1995
I remembered all of the
times I watched Stacey put others before herself, every instance when she led
with integrity, with strength, and with heart – even in the face of doubt.
And if you know one
thing about Stacey Abrams, it's this: She doesn't get ready. Stacey stays
ready. That's why I joined her campaign team: to help Stacey Abrams bring her
leadership and brilliance to the highest office in Georgia.
A lot has changed since
our Spelman days (just look at our hair!), but Stacey is running the same kind
of campaign today as she did back then. She’s reaching out to everyone,
inviting everyone to the table to make sure every voice is heard. Because she
knows Georgia's future will only be bright if it includes all of us.
When I met Stacey
during sophomore year, she was already the smartest person I'd ever met. And
the fact that her values have not changed one iota since that day is a
testament to who she is. That's how I know she will be our next governor.
Stacey Abrams is ready
to lead as governor – and I'm ready to put in the hard work to get her there.
Yours in the fight,
— Edana Walker
#TeamAbramsDeputy Campaign Manager
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Book Reviews
 Stacey Abrams created a personal and empowering blueprint, Minority Leader, for outsiders who seek to become the ones in charge By Renarda A. Williams
Stacey Abrams grew up in
Gulfport, Mississippi, where she was part of a large family that was often
working poor. Today, she is a gubernatorial candidate for the state of
Georgia. If Abrams wins, she will become the first African American female
governor in American history.
Abrams, a graduate of
Spelman College and Yale Law School, was the first woman to lead either party in
the Georgia General Assembly, where she held the office of minority leader for
seven years. Her accomplishments are considerable and speaks to her versatility: A successful tax attorney, she registered 200,000 to people to vote, published eight
romance novels started several businesses. " But as an outsider who faced racism, sexism, and her own feelings of self-doubt,
she definitely knows what it means to not be given a roadmap to success, and to
have carve that path for herself," according to press materials.
Abrams' new book,
Minority Leader: How to Lead from the Outsider and Make Real Change (Henry Holt
and Company, April 24, 2018, 978-1-2501-9129-8, $28.00, hardcover, 256 pages)
is a book sure to speak to, and empower, readers who feel that they, too, are outsiders; who face racial and other biases; and who want to overcome obstacles to success.
Abrams' outstanding book reminds me of the obstacles I faced in
life, including being born premature and growing up in the "Souya Quarters," the
fourth toughest neighborhood in Alexandria, Louisiana. Thanks to God, my
family, mentors, church, and school teachers, I graduated from Bolton High
School, studied history and political science at the University of Southwestern Louisiana — now the University
of Louisiana at Lafayette in Lafayette — and became an educator, journalist, and
social worker and mentor and advocate for the homeless as well as entrepreneur (founding The Umoja
Network in 1998)
I am thankful for motivators such as Abrams, who shows readers that they can overcome roadblocks that include their own fears and say, "If Stacey Abrams can do it, I can, too!"
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A. Akbar Muhammad brings Africa to America And The World: Revisited
By Renarda A. Williams (aka Abari Sankofa) Editor, The Empowerment Initiative Online Newsletter Blog
Abdul Akbar Muhammad's new book, Africa And The World: Revisited, features articles that offer insight and analysis based on more than a decade of his work throughout Africa and his work throughout Africa and his expertise in international relations.
The book brings back wonderful memories of the trip, Helaine and I, took to Lagos, Nigeria. We went on a 10-day fact-finding/medical mission trip behalf of African Women's Health Project International (AWHPI), a nonprofit organization based in Houston, TX and Little Rock, AR. Founded by Deun Ogunlana, the organization is dedicated to meeting the health care needs of poor women and children in Africa.Muhammad is a historian and consultant on international affairs, Africa, and the Middle East. He has traveled to and met top diplomatic officials to more than 154 countries around the world — including 44 African nations — as international representative for Minster Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam. This trip was the culmination of my 23 years of yearning, as a devoted Afrocentric and Pan Africanist, to visit my ancestral homeland. And I can still hear the voices of the ancestors telling us "WELCOME HOME, BROTHER AND SISTER!" as we entered Nigerian airspace. Muhammad said he had a similar spiritual encounter as he entered Africa. Muhammad has produced a thought-provoking and exhilarating book that, if needed, will increase empowerment of conscious-minded African diasporans in the U.S. and throughout the world. It will also inspire those who are unaware of who they are, making them eager to find out from whence they came. Here are some of Muhammad's articles that moved me: Africa in the Diaspora and Home, We Need Each Other; The National Agenda and Africa; Louis Farrakhan at 70: His Impact; America's War! Is Africa the Next Target?; Liberia Can Be Rebuilt; and Black Farmers for Africa. Muhammad's travels recently led him to Little Rock. Muhammad spoke at the Nation of Islam North Little Rock Study Group in North Little Rock on Sunday, July 22, 2018. In addition to the book, he discussed topics of concern in, and about, Black America and present-day Africa. The Empowerment Initiative Online Newsletter interviewed Muhammad via telephone before his lecture. Muhammad, a current St. Louis resident who lived in Ghana for a decade, said one of the best of the 68 articles, or stories, in the book was an article called "Family Reunion." The story is illustrated by a beautiful photo of Iman Warith Deen Muhammad and the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan. "The story [shows] the desire of these communities being able to work together. You do not have to be together everyday and eat dinner, but have the ability to work together," Muhammad said. America's prison system is also discussed in the book. "There are over three and a half million men and women incarcerated in America; and the country is spending 350 billion dollars a year on prisons. I just heard those figures recently," Muhammad said. Muhammad's book also includes an article about Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, his love for the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan and his desire to help the Nation of Islam. Also included are accounts of Muhammad's travels to Europe and, of course, Africa. How does he believe the brothers and sisters in Africa compare to those in the United States? “It’s a long history that you have to understand. We’ve been here 463 odd years, according to the figures that the Honorable Elijah Muhammad gave us, when the first slaves were brought here in 1555, and that’s a long time!” Muhammad said. Today, young people in Africa are more aggressive about accomplishing things and taking advantage of their circumstances now, he added. “For the first time, their generation realize the value of the wealth that’s in the ground, and how it can be used, [and] give them a better quality of life. Before that, the wealth was taken out of the country and used abroad, or either taken out of the country and turned into items that were resold to Africa." The book also includes a few articles about reuniting Africa, including few articles about "The United States of Africa," what it means, and why it should happen. “There are things in the book that will help [people] understand Africa much better and understand the people of Africa. And when you look at the people of Africa, [you'll see that they've] got their own language, identity, names, cultural expressions, music — and they did not lose that. “With us, that was taken away, and we were made to feel that we were less than what we were, in terms of a creature of God, blessed by God, with this beautiful Black skin and that mind and intellect to do things [such as] build our society." When Minster Farrakhan assigned him to Africa to open an office, Muhammad recalled, he fell in love with Africa, the people of Africa, and what they can offer the West. “We can offer them something, and they can offer something also,” he said.
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