Voting Rights Activist Stacey Abrams Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize
Stacey Abrams’ tireless work to save America’s democracy may result in a Nobel Peace Prize.
According to Reuters, Lars Haltbrekken, a Socialist Party member of Norway’s parliament, said while announcing her nomination, “Abrams’ work follows in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s footsteps in the fight for equality before the law and for civil rights.”
Haltbrekken continued, “Abrams’ efforts to complete King’s work are crucial if the United States of America shall succeed in its effort to create fraternity between all its peoples and a peaceful and just society.”
Abrams is credited for helping to secure Biden and Harris’ win and turning Georgia blue. Although she has been a voting rights activist for years, In 2018, Abrams mounted a bid for governor, but lost it in a very narrow vote to then-Secretary of State Brian Kemp by 55,000 votes. Many felt that the race was stolen from her because of a dubious balloting process and allegations of voter suppression. She suspended her campaign without conceding, calling what happened an “erosion of our democracy.”
Since then, however, she has fought to ensure fair counting of votes in her state. She founded Fair Fight Action in 2018 to address voter suppression with an eye on the 2020 political season.
As a result, her activism has left voters feeling empowered enough to cast their ballots and apparently cause a possible sea change in Georgia. A record 7.6 million people were on the voter rolls in the state and Fair Fight managed to register nearly 500,000 new voters, mostly millennials and people of color with a resounding fundraising sweep of more than $32 million, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
Due to her work and many others, democrats Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff became Senators in Georgia. Warnock is the eleventh Black U.S. Senator in history.
Additionally, the Black Lives Matter organization was nominated for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize last week Black Lives Matter responded to the nomination on Twitter shortly after the announcement.
“We hold the largest social movement in global history,” the organization tweeted Jan. 29. “Today, we have been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. People are waking up to our global call: for racial justice and an end to economic injustice, environmental racism, and white supremacy. We're only getting started.”
Nominations will be accepted through Monday (Feb. 1) and The Norweigan Nobel Committee will select a winner in October. An award ceremony is currently scheduled for Dec. 10, according to PEOPLE.
