My bloodline is Southern bred, so I'm no stranger to the cultural biases of my non-ethnic peers. Unlike my grandparents, I was never told I couldn't drink from a "white" water fountain or was rejected from school due to my skin color despite by near-perfect GPA.
Though I haven't suffered the heinous crimes against my humanity based on my ethnicity as my ancestors have, I, like other millennial women of color, understand the culture of racial injustice that's been created in our society, and feel that I have a social obligation to impact change.
Using the tools and technology afforded to our social media centric generation, women are finding ways to not only publicly criticize the system, but to implement a new one that reflects equality. Among this group of revolutionaries is Stacey Abrams, the 44-year-old Democratic Spelmanite that has the potential to change the dynamic of our political system indefinitely.
Last night, Stacey Abrams was victorious against her opponent, Stacey Evans, in The Democratic gubernatorial primary and if she continues her winning streak, will become the first black woman to be US governor, ever. In Georgia, a state that's never had a female governor and is dominated by republicans, this is huge.
The election was nicknamed Stacey Abrams Vs Stacey Evans and has been called one of the nastiest Democratic primaries of 2018. Both candidates had a similar goal, uniting the party during the Trump Era, but executed using different strategies.
Abrams was consistent in her strategy of targeting minority and millennial voters, while Evans focused on winning over white swing voters. Abrams won 75% of the votes in the election, proving that the demographic that was once considered the minority now has a great deal of influence politically.
At her victory party last night, she said:
"We are writing the next chapter of Georgia history, where no one is unseen, no one is unheard and no one is uninspired, Now let's go get it done."
As a daughter of two ministers and sister two five other siblings, Abrams noticed the discrepancies in the political system at an early age. The trailblazer got her start in politics in highschool when she acted as a volunteer for a congressional campaign and earned the job of a professional speechwriter.
After receiving her law degree from Yale, she ran for the Georgia House of Representatives in 2006, became minority leader in 2011, and is now on track to serve us some melanin magic from the governor's mansion.
According to Vox, it's extremely rare for a black woman to be elected into any elective office, Abrams victory would secure her position on a short-list of three other women, two of which are democrats. In an interview with Cosmopolitan, she said:
"My being a black woman is not a deficit. It is a strength. Because I could not be where I am had I not overcome so many other barriers. Which means you know I'm relentless, you know I'm persistent, and you know I'm smart."
Her current initiatives include running for president in 2028, and in the meantime rallying unregistered minority voters, thereby giving a voice to the voiceless. Women like Stacey offer hope that our grandchildren won't have to endure a system as corrupt as we or our grandparents have.
You go, girl.
Featured image by Getty Images