We Can Continue To Build Black Political Power In Georgia’s Runoff Elections

ATLANTA, GEORGIA – NOVEMBER 26: RAPHAEL WARNOCK AND JON OSSOFF ATTEND HOSEA HELPS THANKSGIVING DINNER DRIVE THRU AT GEORGIA WORLD CONGRESS CENTER ON NOVEMBER 26, 2020 IN ATLANTA, GEORGIA. THE ANNUAL EVENT WAS CONVERTED INTO AN DRIVE THRU OUTDOOR CONCEPT DUE TO ONGOING COVID-19 PANDEMIC. (PHOTO BY PARAS GRIFFIN/GETTY IMAGES)

Honoring Black joy and recognizing the labor and determination that brought us this far is important. Now, we’re also gearing up for the next fight ahead because state and local races are crucial to holding national leaders accountable and funding public services that Black communities need to stay safe, housed and healthy. There are two Senate races on January 5th, 2021 that could pave the way for COVID-19 economic relief, expanded health care access, criminal justice reform — and so many more benefits for our communities that come with secure Democratic leadership in the Senate.

Black people need and deserve a federal government that is capable of delivering more positive changes for Black people over the next four years than what has been delivered in the past. If we win both seats in Georgia, we have the power to make Vice President-elect Kamala Harris the tie-breaking vote in the Senate, and one of the most powerful Black women in history. To do so, we need to create history twice, and you know we need Black women to lead the charge.

Current Senator Kelly Loeffler has been vocal about not supporting the Black Lives Matter movement and spoke out against WNBA players who wanted to publicly speak out against police brutality and violence. Senator Loeffler, like current Senator David Perduedownplayed COVID-19 from the start — instead of protecting their constituents, they profited from the pandemic as Black communities were being killed by the virus and forced to become essential workers to provide for their families.

Ossoff-Warnock-Georgia
ATLANTA, GEORGIA – NOVEMBER 26: RAPHAEL WARNOCK AND JON OSSOFF ATTEND HOSEA HELPS THANKSGIVING DINNER DRIVE THRU AT GEORGIA WORLD CONGRESS CENTER ON NOVEMBER 26, 2020 IN ATLANTA, GEORGIA. THE ANNUAL EVENT WAS CONVERTED INTO AN DRIVE THRU OUTDOOR CONCEPT DUE TO ONGOING COVID-19 PANDEMIC. (PHOTO BY PARAS GRIFFIN/GETTY IMAGES)
As two of Trump’s strongest allies, Senator Loeffler and Senator Perdue emulate his racist rhetoric and inaccurate election fraud claims. Their opposition to strengthening the Affordable Care Act, expanding medicaid, and protecting reproductive health care is a direct attack on Black communities that are low-income by leaving them with less health care options.

This race is not about opposing policies on health care, it is a matter of life and death, and a determining factor for whether or not Black communities could have the economic relief to support themselves and loved ones during the pandemic that just saw an increase in coronavirus cases nationwide.

But it’s not just the Senate races we have to be on the lookout for; local and state election runoffs are on December 1, 2020 — including the next District Attorney for the Western Judicial Circuit. This race is vital for criminal justice reform in the state — District Attorneys have the power to decide who is prosecuted and determine the severity of prosecutions. They enact laws that can make our communities safer and are the decision-makers who hold police officers and elected officials accountable.

A win for Georgia is a win for Black communities nationwide. It’s a clapback to the decades-long, coordinated effort to undo the voting rights of the Civil Rights era. That’s why we’ve endorsed Deborah Gonzalez for District Attorney alongside Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff for Senate — candidates who vocally support voting rights and actively fight against voter suppression in the state.

Vote in person on election day. Polls open on December 1st and January 5th from 7am to 7pm.

Black Georgians played a huge role in electing Kamala Harris as the first Black person and first woman as Vice President — we have the chance to make history again by electing Raphael Warnock as the state’s first Black Senator. We can win this race and create a better future for Georgia, for Black communities, and for the movement overall.

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