Oct 06, 2022

Introducing The Cover Star of Essence's Digital Cover, Stacey Abrams

Stacey Abrams Graces Cover of Essence's Digital Cover

Abrams is running to be the first Black woman governor of not just Georgia, but the first ever in U.S. history. She hopes to obtain that win by speaking to the needs of her own people. She’s not leaning on Blackness alone to win people’s hearts.

Abrams’ belief in Black political power began long before 2018 when she first ran for governor. Some would say it goes back to college when she was a young Spelman undergraduate, but Abrams references her childhood to speak about her first understanding of community care. “My parents had three tenets they instilled in us: go to church, go to school and take care of each other,” Abrams says. “My parents taught me the value of service to others. No matter how much we struggled to make ends meet, we were taught that there was someone with less and it was our job to serve that person.”

"What is the most devastating response to me is when someone says, ‘My vote doesn’t matter.’ Of course, it matters. You may not win with your vote every time, but you make them work for it every time. That’s the point. If somebody’s got to work for something, they’re not going to ignore you the way they do."

— Stacey Abrams

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Writer: Clarissa Brooks

Clarissa Brooks, is a writer, cultural critic, and community organizer based in Atlanta, GA.

Photographer: Gunner Stahl