The story of Stacey Abrams

Brut America

She could be the next governor of Georgia — one the most important battleground states. But did you know she also writes romance suspense novels?   This is the story of Stacey Abrams.

Transcript

00:00As a person of color, as a black woman, I've had to overcome barriers myself.

00:04I've had to figure out how to navigate systems that aren't designed for me.

00:18I am proud that I've spent 30 years of my life defending the right to vote,

00:23defending access to the right to vote. The right to vote is sacred to me.

00:27My father was arrested at the age of 14 helping to get black people registered to vote.

00:43Growing up, my family went back and forth between lower middle class and working class.

00:48Every day, my parents taught us, all six of their children,

01:02to celebrate through service the grace that is America.

01:1826 years ago, as a college freshman, I, along with many other Georgians, were deeply disturbed

01:31by the racial divisiveness that was embedded in the state flag with that confederate symbol.

01:36I took an action of peaceful protest. I said that that was wrong,

01:39and 10 years later, my opponent, Brian Kemp, actually voted to remove that symbol.

01:48And today, I come to you as a young person, as a young woman, as a young black woman,

01:57to ask you to use us, use the young people of the United States of America,

02:02to pave a road that will last forever.

02:18I ran for office because I believe that you have to fight to protect the elderly,

02:32that you must stand for immigrants and be their voice, no matter what language they speak,

02:37and that working families simply looking for a way forward should not be denied access because

02:42they had the misfortune of not being born to privilege.

02:51Starting in 2014, we organized ourselves, we raised money, and we registered 86,000 New Georgians.

03:12We are writing the next chapter of Georgia's future,

03:19where no one is unseen, no one is unheard, and no one is uninspired.

03:42And those who have the legal eligibility to vote should cast a ballot. But I also understand that

03:55under Secretary Kemp, more people have lost the right to vote in the state of Georgia.

03:59They've been purged, they've been suppressed, and they've been scared.

04:03I acknowledge that former Secretary of State Brian Kemp will be certified as the victor in

04:08the 2018 gubernatorial election. But to watch an elected official who claims to represent the

04:15people in this state, baldly pin his hopes for election on the suppression of the people's

04:20democratic right to vote has been truly appalling.

04:24My first responsibility was to channel my rage and my despondency into action,

04:30and we launched Fair Fight, which is our organization that is pushing for

04:34fair elections in Georgia and across the country.

04:41I'm a Democrat. I'm a Democrat. I'm a Democrat.

04:44I'm a Democrat. I'm a Democrat. I'm a Democrat.

04:47I'm a Democrat. I'm a Democrat.

04:48I'm a Democrat. I'm a Democrat.

04:50I'm a Democrat. I'm a Democrat.

05:02My belief is, I'm prepared to serve. I look forward to the opportunities to continue the

05:08work that I do on voting rights, on making sure that every underserved community is seen.

05:20We have laws in our state that makes it easy to vote and hard to cheat.

05:44Mr. Kemp has indeed been honest.

05:45He has spent 16 years attacking the right to vote in Georgia.

05:50He has been a champion of the right to vote in Georgia, and he will continue to do so.

05:55He has been a champion of the right to vote in Georgia, and he will continue to do so.

05:59He has been a champion of the right to vote in Georgia, and he will continue to do so.

06:03He has been a champion of the right to vote in Georgia, and he will continue to do so.

06:07He has been a champion of the right to vote in Georgia, and he will continue to do so.

06:11He has been a champion of the right to vote in Georgia, and he will continue to do so.

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