Georgia voting rights activist Stacey Abrams visited Clark Atlanta University on Tuesday for the second annual Black Women Public Policy in the South symposium. In a room of scholars, students, policymakers, and community leaders, Abrams discussed the importance of finding ways to drive actionable policy solutions for Black women.
Nykia Greene-Young, the domestic policy coordinator for the W.E.B. Dubois Southern Center for Studies in Public Policy, was the brainchild behind the event and knew that in its second year and following former Vice President Kamala Harris’ loss in the 2024 presidential election, she wanted to bring Black women and girls together to discuss how they can continue to fight.
“We know that Black women and Black girls are the most marginalized in the community, and if we bring policy that helps Black women and girls, then we help everyone,” Greene-Young said. “When Black women enter, the whole race comes behind it. So, it’s a pivotal time. While we have to take care of ourselves, we know that we have to work too because what’s going on right now — we have a fight, and it’s a fight for survival. And so I knew that we had to talk about it, and we had to get motivated.”
That motivation came, in part, from Stacey Abrams. Greene-Young said that when she called Abrams’ office to request that she speak at the symposium, she knew Abrams would deliver a message that would resonate. In a 20-minute speech that reminded those in the audience why she was such a persuasive force in turning Georgia blue during the 2020 presidential election, Abrams discussed the critical need for policies addressing poverty, environmental justice, affordable housing, and healthcare.
A Spelman College alumna, she recounted her experiences as a student organizer with fellow students in the AUC, leading protests and correcting media misinformation during AUC protests, which led to the creation of the Office of Youth Services by former Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson.
“We live in a moment where we are told that we are not enough. That we are insufficient for this moment, and that’s not true. In this moment, we are exactly where we need to be at the exact moment we need to be here, because now is the time for our voices to be the loudest, and as Black women in particular, we are the canaries in the coal mine. There is no pathology, there is no harm that does not visit us first and stay with us longer.
“And therefore, in this moment, we cannot be quelled into silence because we think we are insufficient for the moment. That is our first responsibility.”
Abrams urged people to do what’s right in a moment of crisis and work to build a better system for their communities.
“We have the opportunity today, in this year, in this administration, to imagine more for who we are and who we want to be.”
The symposium marked the official launch of the Labor Institute for Advancing Black Strategists, the first of its kind at an HBCU in the South. Developed in partnership with Jobs With Justice, the Institute will serve as a hub for Black labor leadership, worker organizing, and economic justice strategies in the South.
The symposium was also hosted in partnership with the Southern Poverty Law Center, Working Families Party and Working Families Power, Georgia Stand Up, ACLU of Georgia, Morehouse School of Medicine Center, the Center of Excellence for Behavioral Health, and SisterSong.
Source:
https://theatlantavoice.com/stacey-abrams-black-women-policy/
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