*Original article edited to reflect past event
Oprah Winfrey is once again throwing her support behind Georgia gubernatorial Democratic candidate Stacey Abrams just as she did in 2018.
On Thursday, Winfrey hosted a virtual event called “Oprah Winfrey and Stacey Abrams Present: A Thriving Life,” to discuss Abrams’ stance on several key issues, including education, housing, and healthcare ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.
Abrams shared the news of the event with her Twitter followers in a post that read, “I’m excited to join an extraordinary storyteller and my friend, @Oprah, for a conversation about this historic election, the #UnfinishedBusiness we have here in Georgia, and how we can write the next greatest chapter in our state’s history.”
“All are invited to join this special event and hear more about Stacey’s unfinished business with the state of Georgia as she works to make history happen this November as the nation’s first Black female governor,” a statement posted on the website.
In 2018, Winfrey became one of Abrams’ biggest celebrity supporters and rallied members of the Black community to stand behind Abrams during her first run for governor.
On Nov. 1, 2018, Winfrey said during a campaign speech, “I am here today for Stacey Abrams. I am here today because of the men and the women who were lynched, who were humiliated, who were discriminated against, who were suppressed, who were repressed, and who were oppressed for exercising their right to vote.”
She continued, “Don’t let nobody turn you ‘round. You can’t let their sacrifices be in vain – because every single one of us has the same power at the polls.”
Abrams lost that race to then-gubernatorial Republican candidate Brian Kemp by less than 55,000 votes. Although she lags behind Kemp in recent polls, she maintains that she is determined to win the 2022 midterm election.
In a recent tweet, Abrams quoted an interview she recently did for The Cut, which read, “I will not only be the best governor for Georgia, I will be the first Black woman in American history to be governor. And you don’t elect someone for history, but, by God, why miss an opportunity to make history?”
In a recent interview with theGrio, Abrams cautioned that who is elected governor has just as many consequences, if not more, than national elections. The Democrat pointed out that controversial laws and policies like Stand Your Ground, mass incarceration in Black communities, and the cutting of social safety net programs were all first enacted by governors.
“Jim Crow never had a single federal law,” she noted. “It was nine Southern governors who stripped Black people of their humanity for 150 years.”
Abrams continued, “In less than 60 days, we have an opportunity to tell a brand new story not only about Georgia but about the South by electing me as the next governor.”
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Image: Instagram.com/staceyabrams