Abrams, a Mississippi native, was one of the most prominent Black women in American politics following her narrow defeat in Georgia’s governor’s race in 2018. She explained why Mississippi and Espy were worth her efforts. Mississippi Today obtained a recording of Abrams’ May 29 call. She stated that it was her decision and the team’s decision to be in battleground state. Mississippi is a battleground State, and by God. We can change the narrative about what is possible if we win the Senate in Mississippi. We also start to push back against the heart of voter suppression in a state that requires too much work to cast a vote.” Abrams broke down the 2020 Senate race via the phone call and praised Espy for trying to unseat Republican Senator Cindy Hyde Smith in November. In modern political history, a Democrat has never won a Senate election. Mississippi voters have never elected a Black man into the Senate. Abrams stated, “We are in the shoulder to shoulder, but we’re not going to leave this race at the end because it’s going to win the day.” “And that victory will come because we have a man such as Mike Espy, who sees all Mississippians, who understands our promise, and he will make every effort to bring that promise back to Washington, D.C.” Abrams also discusses her childhood in Mississippi and the values she was taught by that experience. She discusses the 2020 Senate race and how much work Espy will need to win in November. She also discusses the importance of candidates for statewide office going above and beyond to reach all people, especially people of color. Mississippi Today has transcribed Abrams’ comments. You can listen to the complete audio on this week’s episode of The Other Side podcast. Listen here: This transcript was edited for clarity and length. Stacey Abrams on Mike Espy’s May 29 fundraising call: “I grew-up in Mississippi. I was born in Gulfport, 2020 South Street. My parents were originally from Hattiesburg. They moved to Wisconsin where I was born. I can only recall being cold and eating cheese curds. When I was three, we moved to Mississippi. My parents were searching for a place to raise us, and they had to choose the most deprived street in the middle of the town to get us into good schools. This is not a common situation in Mississippi. My parents are both college-educated and were graduates of Tougaloo College. My mother was a graduate of the University of Wisconsin with a master’s in education. They struggled to make ends meets, not because they spent too much money, but because their education in Mississippi didn’t give them everything. Their capacity was still determined by their race and gender. My dad and mom taught me that it was not okay to complain about what wasn’t possible. We had to strive for the best. We were taught three rules by them: attend church, go school, and care for each other. Because they wanted us to have a faith greater than ourselves, they taught us to attend church. Because the world showed us that it was possible, they wanted us to believe in more. They wanted us to be able to comprehend education and to go to school, even though it didn’t always bring them the results they expected. They had been able to go further than any of their friends. My mother was the first and only of her seven siblings who finished high school. My father was the first person in his family to attend college. He did this despite not being diagnosed with dyslexia until his 30s. They knew education could change a person’s life, especially in Mississippi. They taught us to care for each other. There were six of them and they needed the babysitting. The larger part was that we are responsible for the success or failure of the community, the world, state, and country we live in. We would be asked to volunteer at Gulfport’s homeless shelters, soup kitchens, and juvenile justice center. My parents would look at us and ask, “Why are you helping poor people?” My parents were poor, too. Mom and Dad would look at me and say, “Having nothing does not mean you should do nothing.” This is the way I was raised. This is why I do what I love. When I ran for governor of Georgia in 2018, I was the first Black woman to be nominated by a major party. I did this not because I thought I would get the job but because I felt that I had to do it. Because Mike Espy has always understood that he must try, I support him. He was either a 29-year old upstart who wanted to send a Republican home or he served as secretary of agriculture, helping to address the problems facing farmers across the country. He stood up against Cindy Hyde Smith in 2018 and told people lies about her character and plans to win the election. But he is a man who stands for truth and fights for others. This election is going to be difficult. It’s something we know because we have lived it. We’ve forgotten that we used to win. We’ve forgotten what success looks like. But we’ve seen glimmers in recent days. After eight years of Republican dominion and eight years of total Republican rule, I was ready to run for Georgia governor. In 2002, Democrats lost the Governor’s Mansion. However, by 2010, when I was elected leader of the House, every statewide election had been lost. The Senate moved to a supermajority with two-thirds majority. Republican, the House was just a few seats away and the governor had won the election by 10%. Yet, eight years later, when I decided to run for governor it was not because I didn’t know how math worked. Because I knew where I was and what had changed, it was possible. Because I lived in a state similar to Mississippi, poverty was not on the decline, but increasing. Because we didn’t have enough money, people were at risk of losing their healthcare access. We chose to incarcerate instead of re-educate people and allow them to rejoin our society. We believed in destroying people, but not their redemption. Because we were so busy resolving the past, we couldn’t see the future. What I did in 2018 wasn’t for me, but to run for Georgia. Mike Espy is aiming to do the same. We saw it in 2018 too. Running with Mississippi, running alongside Mississippians from every race and community, talking with them about the possibilities. It’s not about who is at fault, or who was wrong, but what can be done to make it right. Mike Espy represents the Mississippi values we were taught to cherish in our hearts. We believe in a faith that is for all and serves as a shield, not a weapon to defeat them. We believe education should be accessible to all children. It shouldn’t be a struggle to ensure that every child can read and write by the age of 18. We believe that there should be no need for people to die in prisons due to our inability to pay for their upkeep. In the midst COVID-19, a state with only 40% African American residents, we shouldn’t have a high number of people perish. This is not because they are more susceptible to a disease but because of systemic inequalities that make them more vulnerable and less resilient. To change this, we need to have good leaders. In 2021, we will face a recovery like none before. We need senators who believe in this possibility and believe that every person should be able to recover. We need to remember that what happened in Brunswick and Minneapolis is not far from what could happen in Gulfport, Moss Point, Hattiesburg, and Petal. It is essential that we are willing to put in the effort to make Mississippi the Mississippi we believe it can be. That starts today. I said that Nathan Deal was one of the original “birthers” in 2010. We didn’t necessarily think he would usher in a new Georgia. Nathan Deal was elected governor, winning by 10 points. Eight years later, I came within 1.5 point of winning an election. This was not because we had changed the narratives or because I was who and what I was. Georgia agreed with me because I spoke out about who I am and what I believe. The state of Georgia tripled the Latino turnout. The youth participation rate was 139% higher. The state of Georgia tripled the number of Asian/Pacific Islander residents. As I mentioned, we also increased Black participation by 40%. This is why I need to explain it. Jason Carter, the great-grandson of Jimmy Carter ran for Georgia governor in 2014. He was within five points of the winner and turned out 1.1million Democrats. 2018 saw me turn out 1.2 million Black voters. This was because we demonstrated that communities that had been told that they would not be heard from, and that they could speak up, and call their phones or reach out by mail to them, that people who were previously denied access to these communities would stand up and speak up. But I did not campaign only in the Black communities or brown communities. I campaigned in every county in Georgia where “Deliverance” was filmed. Mike Espy understood that it wasn’t about our race in Mississippi or the South. It’s about our values and the rights we believe in for our families. He understands that proving you can cross the aisle doesn’t mean you have to be able to speak Republican. It’s all about showing that you can speak Mississippi. Being able to reach communities where people don’t expect you to be there because you don’t look like them, is a sign that Democrats can win. In fact, I was able to outperform every candidate in Georgia since Bill Clinton when it came to increasing the white vote. I was able to get 31% of college-educated white women to vote for my candidacy. This was more than Michelle Nunn, the son of Sam Nunn. She got 24%, Secretary Hillary Clinton got 25%, and I got 31%. This work can be done. We can show up and speak authentically while also investing early. This is why I am on this call. As we move into June, we are now at the end of May. Your primaries are over, and November seems far off and too soon. We know that if you do the work now and invest in Mike Espy’s vision for Mississippi that we not only change Mississippi but also the South. We can change America by changing the South. In 2018, I started my campaign with the intention of running for governor. It didn’t happen. I ran against the architect of voter suppression. He put people in prison for legally using absentee votes. One person who expelled 1.4 million voters and shut down 214 polling stations, was the most powerful American voter purged in U.S. history. Yet, despite being the umpire and scorekeeper, he barely won the game. Instead of closing my eyes and complaining about what had happened, I set to work. Fair Fight was founded by me, and Fair Fight operates in Mississippi. Fair Fight was founded in Mississippi by me. I wasn’t thinking about the events that happened in Georgia when I was appointed as its head. I was reminded of what my parents fought for in Mississippi when I became the head of Fair Fight. So it was my decision and the team’s that we would be fighting in battleground states. By God, Mississippi is a battleground State. We can change the narrative about what is possible if we win the Mississippi Senate. We also push back against voter suppression in Mississippi, where it is too difficult to cast a vote. That’s why I am so proud of Latoya Thomson, Jarrius Adams, as well as Merritt Baria’s work. We are three people working hard in Mississippi today, because we began our work there in 2019, knowing that we would have to fight for every voter. This isn’t just about Mike Espy. It’s more than winning the Mississippi state election by turning out voters who don’t believe anyone is interested in them. It’s about fighting for the American values we hold dear. I believe in the process. I believe in democracy. I refused to give up my race because I believed I had won and could prove it. I did not, but I acknowledged that he had won according to the laws. I challenged the laws because they don’t serve our people. If any American is denied the right of vote, they are not serving us. What happens in Mississippi when people speak up is not American. We will fight for every vote to be counted and cast. We’re in this together, and we will continue to support this race until the end. Because we’ll be there on the day that victory comes, We will win because Mike Espy, a man who sees all Mississippians, understands our promise and will do everything possible to fulfill that promise in Washington, D.C. Join me in making sure he has enough money, a full heart, and that he gets the ballots he needs to win in November. ”
Thank you.”