Legacy of Carol P. Christ: It’s Time to Thank Stacey Abrams Again

This was originally posted on January 18, 2021

The insurrection in the Capitol on January 6 has dominated the news ever since. Coverage of the Democrats’ victories in the two Senate runoffs in Georgia has been virtually nil. Now that it seems that at least as long as the National Guard is deployed to defend the national and state capitols, the insurrectionists have been stopped, it is time to thank Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff–and most of all to Stacey Abrams–for returning control of the Senate to the Democrats.

As is well-known to most readers of FAR, Stacey Abrams narrowly lost the election for Governor of Georgia in 2018 due to voter suppression.

Voter suppression of voters of color and young voters is a scourge our country faces in states across the nation.  Georgia’s 2018 elections shone a bright light on the issue with elections that were rife with mismanagement, irregularities, unbelievably long lines and more, exposing both recent and also decades-long actions and inactions by the state to thwart the right to vote. 

In response to widespread nation-wide efforts of Republican dominated states to suppress the vote, Stacey Abrams founded Fair Fight.

Georgians and Americans are fighting back. Fair Fight Action engages in voter mobilization and education activities and advocates for progressive issues; in addition Fair Fight Action has mounted significant programs to combat voter suppression in Georgia and nationally. 

Fair Fight PAC has initiated programs to support voter protection programs at state parties around the country and is engaging in partnerships to support and elect pro voting rights, progressive leaders.

Voter suppression continued in Georgia during the recent elections. According to Salon:

Voting rights groups are warning that early voting site closures in Georgia are limiting Black and Latino turnout in the state’s two highly-anticipated Senate runoff elections even as a federal judge on Monday ordered two counties to reverse a decision purging more than 4,000 voters from the rolls.

It nearly certain that it was the efforts of Fair Fight and related organizations to mobilize voters of color and young voters that was responsible not only for Biden’s win in the November elections, but also for the wins of Warnock and Ossoff in January in Georgia. Without this work, the Democrats would not control the Senate, and Trump would probably have won Georgia.

For this I say thank you to Stacey Abrams and to all of those who worked for or financially supported Fair Fight. Stacey Abrams is a model for us all. She shows us that one person, inspiring and working with others, can make a difference. We are not all Stacey Abrams, but we can all take a page from her book. Despair will get us nowhere. Action can change the world, even when it seems that the odds are against us.

I also have a two questions for the Biden-Harris administration. Why was Stacey Abrams not given a position in your cabinet? And, do you plan to create a special position for her to work within your administration to combat the voter suppression that is occurring in all or nearly all Republican-dominated states in the United States?

BIO: Carol P. Christ (1945-2021) was an internationally known feminist and ecofeminist writer, activist, and educator. Her work continues through her non-profit foundation, the Ariadne Institute for the Study of Myth and Ritual.

“In Goddess religion death is not feared, but is understood to be a part of life, followed by birth and renewal.”  — Carol P. Christ