An Evening with Stacey Abrams and Dorothy Gilliam

On the evening of September 12, 2019, Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church (Metropolitan) opened its doors to an electric crowd—some who traveled hours to hear from The Honorable Stacey Abrams and to be part of the inaugural Family Room event.  

The Family Room, a new conversation series hosted by Metropolitan, brought together two luminaries. Ms. Abrams—the 2018 Democratic Nominee for Governor of the state of Georgia and Dorothy Gilliam—the legendary Washington Post journalist. The evening was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to hear one of the most important media voices that covered the Civil Rights Movement interview one of the most important political figures of our time.

That night, more than 600 attendees heard Ms. Abrams’ describe in vivid detail her vision for American society. Mrs. Gilliam opened the conversation with a nod to Ms. Abrams book Lead From the Outside, which gave the audience context for Ms. Abrams’ journey and set an important foundation for the work she has planned for the next phase of her career.  

Here are some of the highlights from the conversation:

Fair Fight and Fair Count While Ms. Abrams certainly talked about her 2018 gubernatorial campaign, her initiatives Fair Fight and Fair Count were a central focus of the dialogue.

One audience member asked whether Ms. Abrams’ work with Fair Count would be inclusive of homeless veterans. She responded that many people who have honored our nation through military service end up without a place to live. Ms. Abrams described the work of Fair Count as concerned with every person, to include homeless veterans and any other individual who may be experiencing unstable housing.

Future Plans There was great interest in whether Ms. Abrams plans to run for public office in the future. One audience member asked about her willingness to run on a Democratic ticket as the party’s Vice-Presidential nominee, which brought total silence to the sanctuary as the audience eagerly awaited her reply. Ms. Abrams responded that she “would be honored” by a nomination for Vice-President. The crowd erupted in applause, with many people enthusiastically standing to their feet.

Getting Involved One of the audience questions came from a college student, who asked what they could do to prepare for elections. Ms. Abrams described the efforts of Fair Fight 2020 and introduced the initiative’s Howard University campus representative.

The Family Room DC’s inaugural event was a little bit of everything, in the best way possible: it was informative. It was thought-provoking. It was light-hearted and motivating. An Evening with Stacey Abrams, hosted by The Family Room at Metropolitan AME Church, was a political delight.

Written By Keneshia N. Grant, Ph.D.

Keneshia N. Grant, Ph.D. is an assistant professor of Political Science at Howard University. Her research interests include American politics, Black politics, and American political parties. Her first book, The Great Migration and the Democratic Party: Black Voters and the Realignment of American Politics in the 20th Century is scheduled for release in January of 2020. @KeneshiaGrant