There is a movement growing in my home state of Georgia. A movement of Democratic voters concerned about our state’s reputation for voter suppression and worried about being among the hardest hit by a pandemic due, in part, to conflicting policies and politics. Georgia is a state with a proud history of "good trouble," inspired by the life and work of the great leader, John Lewis, and today, many of Georgia's women leaders are continuing to stir up good trouble for racial justice and equality.
Leaders like Stacey Abrams, through her organization Fair Fight, and other voter registration efforts that have registered nearly 800,000 new voters in Georgia in the past two years alone. In spite of continuing real concerns about voter fraud and suppression, Georgia feels like a state moving forward again.
More women in the state are also stepping up to campaign for political office, some of whom who were featured speakers at last week’s Democratic National Convention (DNC). In fact, more women from Georgia spoke during the four days of this first ever virtual convention than any other state. I admit to feeling a sense of pride in my sister Georgians and a powerful dose of hope, too, that these voices represent a renewed Georgia, one ready to take up leadership again to strengthen the nation’s democratic values, starting with a renewal of them in our own communities and state.
In a rare public appearance, former First Lady Rosalynn Carter spoke fondly of Democratic nominee for President, Joe Biden. She recalled their work together to support caregivers across the nation. “[Joe] recognizes the challenges facing our families and has the heart and the talent to make life better for all Americans.” Rosalynn has consistently been a leading advocate for stronger caregiver support, mental health programs, and many other causes, both at The Carter Center here in Georgia and during her years as first lady which I observed close-up as a White House correspondent. I have always admired her tireless activism, her compassionate spirit and her strong character-driven leadership.
Stacey Abrams also spoke passionately about her support for Joe Biden. Her speech was brief but substantive. She pointed out the "triple threat" America is facing: a public health catastrophe, an economic collapse, and a reckoning with racial justice and inequality, calling on Americans to vote for a "leader who hears our dreams and works to make them real." Stacey has always fought for the rights of the people of Georgia to cast a vote that gets counted. As the founder of Fair Fight, which has registered hundreds of thousands of new voters in 20 states, and Fair Count, an NGO focused on ensuring every vote gets counted, she is a powerful advocate for voting rights for everyone. Women leaders like Stacey inspire and motivate countless others to continue pushing for fair and equal access to the most precious right and responsibility we have as citizens of a democracy: to vote and to be counted.
"In a time of voter suppression at home and authoritarians abroad, Joe Biden will be a champion for free and fair elections; for a public health system that keeps us safe; for an economy that we build back better than before; and for accountability and integrity in our system of justice."
— Stacey Abrams
Pat Mitchell and Sally Yates at the the Women’s Leadership Council in 2018.
At another Democratic gathering put together in 2018 by the Women’s Leadership Council, I had an opportunity to interview former acting Attorney General Sally Yates and at the end of our conversation about her courageous stand against President’s Trump’s "Muslim Travel ban” and her subsequent firing, Yates got a standing ovation from the audience, something that happens often when she speaks.
It’s a recognition of her courage and her strong belief in the values stated in the US Constitution. Sally stirred my heart and many others with her closing thoughts at the DNC: “This is our country’s moment of need. We need a president who respects our laws and the privilege of public service… We need a president who will restore the soul of America. We need Joe Biden.”
Keisha Lance Bottoms, my mayor in Atlanta, delivered a heartfelt and fierce speech. She reflected on the life, work and words of fellow Georgian, Rep. John Lewis, who died earlier this month, and she spoke boldly of the dream John Lewis had for America, a dream she also fights to see become a reality. She pledged to carry on John Lewis’s last wishes, saying, “The baton has been passed to each of us to cry out for justice and demand change.” Mayor Bottoms is carrying that baton forward, and I feel privileged to support her in this journey toward making Atlanta a beacon of hope, a portal for justice and a city that models how we might unify the deep divides that threaten our country.
“We have cried out for justice, we have gathered in our streets to demand change, and now, we must pass on the gift that John Lewis sacrificed to give us, we must register, and we must vote.”
— Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms
At the Georgia delegation's virtual breakfast, Representative Lucy McBath who represents Georgia's 6th District, also spoke. She said, "At its core, I believe this election is truly about having a government that is for the people, by the people.” Lucy came to politics from tragedy. In 2012, Lucy's 17-year-old son Jordan Davis was murdered. She became a powerful advocate for gun control, speaking with other African American mothers who have lost their sons to gun violence at the 2016 DNC. In 2018, she ran for the House and won.
Her efforts in Congress reflect that historical ideal of our country, and she continues to push for access to health care and other people-centered policies during the COVID-19 crisis. Lucy is up for reelection this year in a tough race — it's one of the country's most competitive districts — and I am wholeheartedly supporting her campaign. (I'll be writing more about her in the weeks to come.) She is a woman who is fed up with the way our country continues to prioritize corporations over its citizens, and she is fighting to make our government for the people once more.
This November, there are more women running for elected office across the country than ever before in history, and that is reason enough to celebrate and double our individual and collective commitments to do whatever we can to get more women into leadership positions.
To do my part, I’m launching a social media campaign I call "WOMAN UP." Over the next eight weeks, I’ll be profiling some of the women who in my opinion will move this country forward towards a renewal of democratic values of "One Nation, United," and whose campaigns exemplify the role that women can and must take in order for “We the People” to truly mean “ALL the People.”
I can’t speak for all the people of Georgia but as one woman born in a small south Georgia town and now living again in the state’s capital, I am a Woman UP for the responsibility and the opportunity to do my part to move my state and my country forward towards a more perfect union and a truly representative government.
Onward!
- Pat
