The last several weeks, we’ve been witnessing “The New American Majority.” Stacey Abrams coined this during her 2018 campaign for Governor of Georgia as she built a unique political and social coalition. I believe it’s just the kind of broad-based coalition our country needs to work together combatting long standing policies and actions of injustice in our country. In the recent protest events, we’ve watched such a coalition in the bright faces of people of color, of engaged young people, in moderate to progressive white folks -- some carrying babies -- to seniors standing strong or sitting proud in their wheelchairs.
We may get nervous experiencing such boisterous, though peaceful marchers, but I think Ms. Abrams has a point when she says, “Agitation is my favorite part of the political process.” Such protests can be wake-up calls and have served as important historical milestones in raising the consciousness of people who have become too comfortable in their privileged lives. Of course it takes much more than protests to bring about lasting change. A reviewer of Abrams’s new book, Our Time is Now, puts it this way: “The most basic distillation of Abrams’s philosophy is protest plus participation.”
When Ms. Abrams lost the close race for Governor of Georgia, she set up a PAC to combat voter suppression and unfair census counting practices. These and other issues of justice are calling us as the New American Majority to take a stand and work together for peace and justice.
I’m Connie Seraphine and that is my Perspective.
