Twitter Is Thanking Stacey Abrams, WNBA, and Organizers for Their Work in Georgia
Georgia has gone blue, and it couldn't have happened without these important players.
Though a handful of votes have yet to be counted, political pundits are calling it—the state of Georgia has gone blue in the 2021 runoff election, and the Democratic party has seemingly gained control of the Senate. Reverend Raphael Warnock, who beat Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler in the runoff race, has been declared the first Black senator from Georgia, and now we wait for Democrat Jon Ossoff to unseat Republican David Perdue to see a 50-50 split in the Senate.
And many who are following the historic race know this win wouldn’t have been if not for the efforts of voting rights activist and former Georgia Representative Stacey Abrams, the activists and organizers in Georgia who helped spread the word of the importance of the runoff election, and high-profile WNBA players who helped raise awareness and advocate for the removal of Loeffler, who is co-owner of the Atlanta Dream team.
Abrams began fighting for a blue Georgia over a decade ago, and starting at the grassroots level, she was able to get disenfranchised and minority voters to the polls so that they could make their voices heard despite voter suppression efforts from white Republican politicians.
And Abrams could not have come to this conclusion on her own. She was flanked by outspoken activists like Nicole Pressley, Nse Ufot, and Britney Whaley (to name just a handful).
The Atlanta Dream got involved in the Senate runoff race by publicly supporting Rev. Warnock, despite being co-owned by Loeffler, who has been vocal about her disapproval of the Black Lives Matter movement. Loeffler was pressured by both WNBA players and fans to sell her share in the team due to conflicting values, but she refused, and that led the Atlanta Dream players and their supporters to launch a massive campaign for her opponent Rev. Warnock.
LeBron James has now gotten involved in the fight against Loeffler, vowing to put together an ownership committee to purchase the Atlanta Dream. We’re in.
If and when pundits confirm Ossoff as the winner over Perdue, the real work begins. Now, with a Democrat-majority in both the House and Senate, we can start to push the country into greener pastures. Stay active and aware and keep your representative’s number on speed dial.
