I grew up one of six children with working-class parents in the Deep South. My mother was a college librarian, and my father worked in a shipyard. I never saw them balance a checkbook, but they kept a roof over our heads and got all six of us into college.
Our ability to participate in government, to elect our leaders and to improve our lives is contingent upon our ability to access the ballot. We know in our heart of hearts that voting is a sacred right - the fount from which all other rights flow.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Voting is a fundamental right that enables citizens to influence their government and improve their lives.
Stacey Abrams emphasizes the critical role of voting as a cornerstone of democracy. She posits that the ability to participate in government and elect leaders is intimately tied to the accessibility of the ballot, framing voting as a sacred right that is essential for the protection and exercise of all other rights. By asserting that voting is the source from which other rights flow, Abrams advocates for the importance of safeguarding this process and ensuring that all individuals can engage in it freely.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
During a civic engagement workshop, to inspire young people to register to vote.
More from Stacey Abrams
All quotes →I do not Google myself, I do not read comments, and I barely look myself in the eye when I look in the mirror.
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.
The basis for sustainable progress is legal protections grounded in an awareness of how identity has been used to deny opportunity.
I like to solve problems. I know it is a skill set, but it's also an obligation. I grew up with parents who believe that you don't simply complain: you try to find solutions and fix what's in front of you.
Here in Georgia, we continue to grapple with our own vestiges of hate. The image carved into Stone Mountain, like Confederate monuments across this state, stand as constant reminders of racism, intolerance, and division.
Similar quotes
A political problem thought of in military terms eventually becomes a military problem.
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Nothing could be more dangerous to the existence of this Republic than to introduce religion into politics
There's lots about politics I don't feel comfortable with. To talk about the politics of future ideas is impossible in soundbite form.
I learned to be far more skeptical of what I'm told by presidents, no matter who the presidents are, and also to be much more cautious, always, in any action or vote that could lead to the use of American military power and most particularly what we call 'boots on the ground.'
I'd rather entrust the government of the United States to the first 400 people listed in the Boston telephone directory than to the faculty of Harvard University.