Like many of you, I’ve spent the last few days fairly speechless. If you’ve ever volunteered with Georgia Equality, you know that is saying something. I’m rarely at a loss for words. I was raised in a civically engaged home. I’ve eagerly followed elections since I was a child and we often said in our home that politics were our favorite sport. I’ve always had a passion for history and governance. But nothing in my short 35 years on this earth could prepare me for this week.
The events on Wednesday were horrific and deeply painful for those that fight so hard for equality and justice. Important discussions about white supremacy, authoritarianism, and sedition are continuing. This country’s moment of reckoning is far from over.
However.
Something else happened on Wednesday; something that we should not and cannot forget. A principle tactic of terrorism is disruption, despair and distraction. The goal is to turn us away from love and joy, towards fear and anger. In these trying times it is essential that we celebrate our victories, that we keep our eye on the prize, and that we continue to push forward. It is in that spirit that I write this article today.
On Tuesday, January 5, 2021, Georgians elected not one, but two democratic senators to the US Congress. The Reverend Raphael Warnock – who carries the spiritual legacy of Dr. King, who grew up in public housing in Savannah, whose mother picked someone else’s cotton – will represent us in the highest legislative body in the land. You did that. WE did that.
This historic victory took all of us, and I want to take the time to thank some of them here. First and foremost, I want to thank the Georgia Equality Canvassing Staff, particularly April Harper, Lamar Yarborough, and Mahlon Randolph. These organizers have worked with Georgia Equality for years. Some of them began their journey with us as interns and fellows, only to go on to lead their own organizations and initiatives. Yet they continue year after year to register voters in 100-degree heat, call and text people for hours on end, and chase down provisional ballots long after everyone else has moved on. We owe a debt of gratitude to the 20 canvassers that pushed forward this year during truly terrifying circumstances. They are overwhelmingly young, black, and queer and they truly put their lives on the line when the whole world seemed to be attacking them. Thank You.
Next, I want to thank our amazing volunteers. They too are a diverse and passionate bunch. Over 500 individual grassroots volunteers helped in this effort and I wish I could list every one of them, but the list is too long! Among them are reverends, music producers, high school students, home-makers, mama-bears, retirees, engineers, teachers, servers, doctors, epidemiologists, and on and on and on. They represent every color, creed, orientation and identity in our LGBTQ+ rainbow. I can confidently say that our volunteer nights are often the most diverse gathering of activists in Georgia. Since November 3rd, they completed over 110,000 volunteer hours. They called over 25,000 people, mobilized over 6,600 voters and sent over 500,000 texts. They pushed through when we were all so very tired, and I cannot thank them enough.
Lastly, I want to thank the incredible list of partner organizations that mobilized their own members to help us in this herculean effort. That list is also long, but I want to specifically thank Vivian Topping and the Equality Federation for their unwavering guidance and support over the last two years. It was Vivian’s belief in me that got us to this moment. Among our federation partners, a special thanks to Equality Florida for phone banking for us every Tuesday and to Equality California for spearheading a fundraising effort that brought in more than $50,000 from donors in California. National organizations who went above and beyond to support our efforts in Georgia include the National Center for Transgender Equality and GLAAD who used their resources and connections to amplify our work and the LGBTQ+ Taskforce for managing volunteer recruitment and orchestrating an impressive turnout rate. Thank you to the LA LGBT Center, the Fairness Campaign, the Bradbury-Sullivan Center, the Changing the Conversation Alumni, Equality Arizona, UU the Vote, PFLAG Southeast, Emerald Coast Equality, Georgia Pride Committees and so many more who had one or more staff members participate in our largest volunteer effort in our organization’s history. I have been truly moved by the nation-wide mobilization of Equality organizations in this fight. Never has the lyric, “We Are Family” rang more true.
All of us came together under enormous pressure to secure this victory and we should be so proud of ourselves. But as the events of this week have taught us, our fight is far from over. The Georgia legislative session begins on Monday and we are preparing for unprecedented attacks on our communities and the voting rights we hold so dear. We will need every last volunteer to continue to resist oppression and stay in the fight with us. Regressive forces will try to punish us for finding our voices and daring to use it against them. They fear us: our passion, our power, our perseverance. Let them fear. We will continue to stand strong.
Typically calls to action end with over-used proverbs and tired phrases. But there is one phrase that I think is fitting in this moment. It originated right in the heart of this great state and this powerful region: We Shall Overcome. Not I, not you, not she… We. WE shall overcome. May you join us in our fight and continue to build towards a better, brighter future.
