Stacey Abrams
Let’s talk about Stacey Yvonne Abrams. I had to put her full government name so everyone knew what time it was. I don’t personally know Abrams or every detail of her story. All I know is I appreciate Stacey. After losing a highly publicized and deeply contested gubernatorial race, she could have been a sore loser, but she had her eye on the real goal and a genuine heart for service. What was the real goal, you may ask? It was lasting change, and creating that change continued the vision the ancestors had for the humanization of blackness. The governorship may have allowed Stacey to pass policies statewide that would have affected the change she wanted to see. But, that would have simply been undone when her term was up and inevitably turned back over to a Republican. Instead of feeling defeated, she went out on a limb and motivated a whole entire city to vote those horrible senators out. You see, humans only see things in success or failure. But life really isn’t about our goals at all. Our only purpose is to realize more about ourselves with each circumstance we are presented with, each circumstance we manifest.
It is in this way that Stacey’s story reminds me of the spiritual journey. More importantly, it is a prime example of how you can stay focused on spirit, your higher consciousness, or allow things (the background noise) to become a distraction. Because no one was really rooting for Stacey initially, it was the longest shot ever, becoming governor of one of THE reddest states in America. Stacey was beyond the underdog in her pursuit of success and her quest to give a voice and a sense of equality to those that are voiceless and faceless in democracy. When things got complicated, and Stacey went on to lose the race, she could have packed up and moved on to something else. She very well could have internalized the pundits and even the people that looked more like Judas than Jesus in her own camp. In doing so, she wouldn’t have realized who she would become. But, also, that would have been the human thing to do. Especially when the human institutions that we subscribe to are built to exclude the Stacey’s of the world.
We will fight for every vote. The best is yet to come. - Stacey Abrams
But I think that the governorship in some way started out as logical and maybe aspirational. Because Abrams is obviously very woke and educated. And running for office just happened to put her in the right place to actually realize herself and her true power and maybe even authenticate what had always been inside of her. When she lost and became even more aware of the lengths white men, white privilege would go out to silence her and the black vote, her purpose was activated. Honestly, if she had won Governor of Georgia, she would be another Phyllis Wheatley. I bet you have never heard that name. Phyllis Wheatley was another black woman in our history that was forced to make space for herself in circumstances that were stacked against her.
As with our topic at hand, it was only in realizing she had a greater message within her, that we are forced to never forget Stacey Abrams walked this Earth. That is how I will always think of her.
With faith, she turned the tide of history. And because of her, I can confidently say that I love the fact that Georgia may be a red state, but ATL is blue through and through.
When discussing Stacey’s path, I think it’s important to note how obstacles arose internally and externally. I feel like kemp (forever lowercase) is the typical horrible white opponent in any work setting-- someone who is constantly lying and cheating through their career with no consequences. It takes a literal act of God (or a Stacey) to unseat their arrogance, and they still exist unscathed and unpenalized for the harm they have caused others.
kemp is white privilege personified; the white privilege white people refuse to see in themselves. He had favor at every turn, did whatever he wanted with no regard or respect for his office or his constituents. The very thing that Abrams eventually collected herself and mobilized the people to destroy.
Our trauma or victim state always teaches us to fear the pain, avoid the truth even. Stacey understood on some level that there was a deeper truth to be revealed; I believe that is what kept her focused. I believe that getting to the light in that truth became her motivation. Stacey’s courage provided us with the modern-day example of fighting for civil rights and what it really takes to plant seeds of change into our collective consciousness.
Nonetheless, despite the eventual success and well-deserved praise that Stacey has received, there is still so much more to the story and the journey.
Today, I was listening to a storytelling session on Black History Month. And here was a perfect opportunity for the white people present to learn to be more compassionate, to be silent, and to understand the impact their forefathers have and still have on the black body, the black mental state, and the black consciousness. From my perspective, it became this fact-checking session for them. “What are the dates? How old was she? What happened to her children?” In my opinion, when it comes to black suffering, it is only valid if there is some scientific record. The very record that they erased with intent so there would be no running tally of all the despicable crimes they inflicted on other humans. Humans that just so happened to be black.
The questioning is white privilege. The shock is white privilege. The lack of awareness will always be white privilege. This country’s soul has had a blocked root chakra from the moment they made a play for land that didn’t belong to white men.
White privilege is a constant for the United States. The future may be female, but the future will still favor those among us that are the descendants of colonizers. We, nor will our children see, an America that is not controlled by whiteness. This is ultimately why Stacey Abrams sits where she does today, and not as the first black woman president of the United States. Stacey Abrams is a dark-skinned, full-figured, gap-toothed, natural-haired black woman. There was no seat at any table at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave that would have her as a permanent resident. I feel like she was slighted when it came to the presidency, and many women with her likeness, that follow her will be slighted as well. It proves that all skin folk ain’t kinfolk. It should be Stacey in the White House, not Kamala, but it appears you need to be very light-skinned to be inaugurated in this country; history has proven that. In the South, we know that well, it is the separation between the house and the field.
Stacey Yvonne Abrams.
We owe her more than thank you. President Biden would be largely unsuccessful without the Senate being majority Democrat--that’s on Stacey Abrams, and Mary had a little lamb! But, Kamala and the gentlemen look the part.
Alas, we have but a week left in Black History Month. I will continue to share stories of those we must always remember to honor. Our leaders and our ancestors live within us as our inspiration. We must look to them not just in February but whenever we need a tangible example of the Light.
If you would like to consider knitting together your own ancestry, schedule some time with me here.
And, check out these episodes of the podcast:
‘Rona Realness: Organizational Response to the Culture
‘Rona Realness: Black Lives Matter