Stacey Abrams Covers Essence Magazine: 'Faith Should Be a Shield to Protect'

Mar. 15, 2025

Stacey Abrams Covers Essence Magazine.Photo: Gunner Stahl

Stacey Abramsis opening up about her passion for voting rights, and the faith that guides her, as she covers the latest issue ofEssencemagazine.

“We must elect candidates who see us, hear us, represent us, and have a commitment to passing legislation that ensures our communities have the opportunity to thrive,” Abrams — currently in ahotly contested race for Georgia governor— told the publication.

The longtime Democratic lawmaker narrowly lost the 2018 Georgia governor’s race to current Gov. Brian Kemp, a loss that propelled her to become one of the country’s leading voices on the importance of — and challenges to — voting rights.

Stacey Abrams.Gunner Stahl

Those voter-registration efforts set the backdrop for November 2020’s presidential surprise, when some 5 million ballots were cast in Georgia, smashing the previous record.Joe Bidenultimately defeatedDonald Trumpin the state — the first Democrat to win statewide there in decades.

Two months later, Democratic Senate candidatesJon OssoffandRaphael Warnocktriumphed over Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler.

Those historic Democratic wins seemed to shed light on Abrams' long-held hypothesis that that Georgia’s electorate — when given more opportunity to vote — was more diverse than history made it seem.

Speaking toEssence, Abrams noted how “devastating” it is to hear from those who believe their vote “doesn’t matter.”

“Of course it matters. You may not win with your vote every time, but you make them work for it every time,” she said. “That’s the point. If somebody’s got to work for something, they’re not going to be as mean to you as they were. They’re not going to ignore you the way they do.”

Abrams, meanwhile, seems willing to work.

Though a string of hit novelsfocused on romance, her latest — released last May — was a political thriller calledWhile Justice Sleeps,which follows a young law clerk who becomes the power of attorney and legal guardian for a Supreme Court justice after he falls into a coma.

In launching another campaign for the seat, Abrams again faces Kemp, whocurrent polls showwith a more-than six-point lead in the race.

Abrams isn’t one to be deterred, however, even when the odds are stacked against her. It’s the voters, she toldEssence, that keep her fighting.

“[My parents] always reminded us that our faith should be a shield to protect and not a sword to strike down,” she said. “This belief still guides me today as I fight to ensure that Georgians of all backgrounds are seen [and] heard.”

source: people.com