Voting rights activist Stacey Abrams delivered a powerful message to more than 500 event attendees at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore in April as part of President Heidi M. Anderson’s Presidential Lecture Series.
Abrams is known for getting results. During her 10-years as a state lawmaker in the Georgia House of Representatives, Abrams became the first woman to serve as the House Minority leader. That was followed by becoming the first woman ever to earn a Democratic nomination for governor in the United States and coming within 1.4 percent of votes to beating her Republican opponent in the 2017 Georgia gubernatorial race. Abrams turned that influence into power when her efforts to get out the vote during the 2020 U.S. Presidential election resulted in turning the historically conservative Georgia from red to blue, cementing the presidency for Joe Biden.
Armed with that knowledge and respect, students, faculty, staff and the community turned out to hear what the modern-day Freedom Fighter had to say about the current state of United State political affairs and what role they should play.
Senior Keith Ceruti II, an aerospace engineering major, was among the many students who sat eagerly as Abrams addressed the audience. Moments after the event, his enthusiasm remained high. “Activities like this are an opportunity for our university to learn what it is we can do to help the next generation, so the future looks a little brighter,” Ceruti said.
UMES Student Government Association President Armani Dukes said he feels a unique connection to Abrams because she was also SGA president while an undergrad at Spelman College. Abrams told the crowd how her HBCU experience prepared her for leadership, something that resonates with Dukes. “I was truly moved by Stacey Abrams and her powerful message on the importance of HBCUs,” said Dukes, an electrical engineering major. “She spoke on the impact of defunding these institutions and emphasized that for people to truly care about HBCUs, they must first understand their value, legacy, and the vital role they play in shaping our communities.”
An urge to individual activism was the overall message left for many in attendance. Abrams shared her “10 Steps to Freedom & Power” campaign, which she says is meant to mobilize the resistance, recognition and reversal of the rise of authoritarianism.
Dr. Miriam Purnell, Department Chair and professor in the College of Pharmacy and Health Professions at UMES, believes those concepts help unlock better understanding of the power of the vote. “One thing the speaker said that I took away and want students to remember is that voting is not magic, it’s math, so when we show up, we make a difference and not just in national elections, but local elections, too,” said Purnell.
More specifically, students were encouraged to take charge of the world around them by taking a moment to disengage from the digital world. “They are targeting not just your generation, but your demographic. The misinformation and disinformation targeted at young people of color is extraordinary because they are so intentional about shrinking your attention span, by undermining your self-esteem,” said Abrams. “The weapon you have is decision making. You can decide not to watch. The world will not explode while you’re not on your phone.”
President Anderson says she couldn’t have been happier with the response to Abrams visit to UMES and expects future Presidential Lecture Series guests to inspire the same curiosities and excitement in students and the community.
A New York Times Best Selling Author and attorney, Abrams is occupied with the work of keeping U.S. elections a fair and democratic process, but as she told, Dr. Anderson, Stacey Abrams is far from done with politics.
