Response to the latest of elements in the peace process. That is live from the u. S. Institute of peace. Watch that here on cspan. This from the campaign trail, wgbh tv in boston is hosting a debate between senator ted markey and his challenger, congressman joe kennedy. See that live at 7 00 p. M. Eastern, online at cspan. Org, or listen live with the free cspan radio app. Tvking at that race, wgbh reports the race between the two narrowed after attorney Shannon Riordan dropped at january, saying sometimes some obstacles are too great to overcome. She sought to make the case she was an outsider with intimate knowledge of the struggles of the working class who could bring that perspective to the senate. Request to unseat an entrenched lawmaker was derailed when joe kennedy iii announced in september he was entering the race. You can read more at wgbh. Com. Up next, Stacey Abrams said she would be honored to be the democratic president ial nominees running mate. She will talk about political activism and Voting Rights before students at Morehouse College in atlanta, georgia. We want to note that we will have to take a break briefly to show the house pro forma session at 103 30 eastern, and then return to her remarks shortly after that session. Good evening. Major hereor english at Morehouse College. I have the esteemed honor of introducing our 2020 king lecture speaker, leader stacy abrams. [applause] stacy abrams is a New York Times bestselling author, serial entrepreneur all, nonprofit ceo and political reader. After serving for it 11 years in the Georgia House of representatives, serving as 2018 sheleader in became the democratic nominee for governor of georgia, when she won more votes than any other democrat in the states history. To join herte Gubernatorial Campaign as an intern. I saw firsthand the strength and power of collective voices. Leader abrams was the first black woman to become the Gubernatorial Company nominee for a major party in the u. S. After witnessing the gross mismanagement by the secretary of states office, leader abrams everyd every ensured voter had a voice. I was inspired to join the fight for Fair Election as a campus manager for the morehouse that theap, to ensure voices of College Students are heard in every election, by way of their most sacred and fundamental right as a citizen, their boat. Leader abrams has found it multiple organizations devoted to Voting Rights and helping people of color and tackling social you social issues at the state and national levels. To ensure that the 2020 census and countscurate everyone. She is a lifetime member of the council on Foreign Relations. The 2012 relations recipient of the new frontier award. Abrams has also written a romantic novels. In addition to lead from the outside, a guidebook on making real change. Leader abrams received a degree from spellman college, the lbj school of Public Affairs at the lawersity of texas and yale school. Please join me as we welcome to our school, our speaker for the evening, leader Stacey Abrams. [applause] ms. Abrams thank you. I would say you look good, but i can see almost nothing. [laughter] ms. Abrams but you feel good, so thank you. Much for the honor of being here today. To speak about not only the legacy of dr. King, but the future of his dream. My favorite speech by dr. King is not the i have a dream speech. My favorite speech was when he delivered on mothers day in 1966 in south carolina. It was a speech called march on ballot boxes. Yes,s a speech that said, we achieved a specific goal of getting the right to vote after centuries of trying. 15th and 16th amendment was made real through the Voting Rights act of 1965. And yet, the power was not real. The capacity to change our lives was not real unless we marched on ballot boxes. Boxes was aballot phrase i did not learn until a few years ago. I havebeen an ethos lived with most of my life. I am the daughter of two civil rights activists. Their names will appear in almost no history books because they were teenagers in mississippi during the heart of the Civil Rights Movement. They were teenagers that understood something was wrong in our country. My parents grew up in mississippi, hattiesburg. It, head likes to put grew up on the wrong side of the tracks and my mom grew up on the wrong side of the wrong side of the tracks. They were bounded together by race, by region, and also by racism that had been denying themselves access and opportunities for generations. 16 my age of 15 and parents understood that they had the responsibility to secure the right to vote. At the time, the right to vote would not be made real until they were 21. We had not got the 25th amendment yet. My parents understood the right to vote was tied to their right to opportunity. They helped register voters throughout hattiesburg, mississippi. My dad got caught and was arrested. My mom did the same but was smart enough not to get caught. Together they believed their actions were necessary, their actions were ordained. In 2018 i stood for governor of georgia. Despitefor governor coming from a family that had best been called working poor. I stood despite having a mother who was the only one of her seven siblings to finish high school. A father who was dyslexic. To finishh he managed high school and was the first man in his family to go to college, my father was denied access to real opportunity because dyslexia was treated as him being another dumb black kid. My father made his way to college and my parents made their way to wisconsin. They moved back to mississippi, armed with degrees in opportunities they believed could change their future. Yet, my mother was a College Library and who still sometimes made less money than the janitor who cleaned the college. Herpower does not entitle to equity. My father, despite being a brilliant man who studied history, and is one of the smartest people i know, because he cannot read and his dyslexia that went undiagnosed until he was 30, he was denied access to a job in an office. He worked on the shipyards. Noble work, but not the work he wanted. In a single generation my parents went from us being the we went from genteel poverty to being the progeny of parents who produced my older sister, who is a phd and cultural anthropology. A firstr leslie is black woman to be a federal judge in the state of georgia. Is a lot of there us, you might want to hold on. My parents were very prolific with their childbearing. [laughter] ms. Abrams my brother richard who works in social working and helps those who are left out and left behind. My brother walter who is figuring out something too. And my little sister janine who has a phd in microbiology. Mya single generation parents viewed what came as dr. King stream to create opportunity for their children that they could never have imagined. I decided to become the first black woman to get the nomination for governor in the history of the United States of america for a major party. [applause] and yet, as jordan did his very kind introduction, he did not call me governor abrams. There are reasons for that that we can talk about, but there is a court issue that i have focused on since that election. Not aboutare candidates winning office. That is what we have been taught to believe. Elections are not about candidates. Elections are about the people. Andt their dreams, hopes aspirations. About their identity and a politics that render their identities of poison as opposed to a prompt. In the time i stood for office, iran my campaign that if you centered communities of color and talked to the needs of the marginalized and disadvantaged, that you could resonate with communities that did not see themselves in the body of politics. I believe my responsibility was not simply to get a job, but to do the work. So i ran a campaign that tried to have conversations everywhere. I started my campaign in albany, georgia, but i found myself in the area where they filmed deliverance. I went to communities that had never seen a candidate and communities that did not want to see me. My marching on ballot boxes meant that i could not only talk to those who already agreed with me. The promise of our nation is not made real by only talking to those who show up, and its talking to those who dont believe they have a right to be there. Talking to those who see themselves as less than the cousin have been lied to by politicians. Because the votings rights act was gutted not because racism is dead, but because racists are getting more power. We live in a time where we have the responsibility not simply to march on ballot boxes, but to make those marches make sent make those boxes make sense and make them real. To make the policies that lift up our communities, not tear us apart and tear us down. I ran for governor because i thought i had something to say. I ran for governor because i makingto do the work of the promise of hope real. It did not work. In the aftermath i had a few days off. Between election day and my nonconcession day. On november 6 i stood up at a podium where people waited to hear the results of the election, only the Associated Press had not called a decision because of the malfeasance and incompetence and concerns that had run rampant through the state of georgia around our election. Because they cannot say for certain who had won, my responsibility was not to go downstairs and say oh well, my job was to go to the ballroom, stand at that podium and say i would keep fighting until every vote was counted. Myselfwas not to make governor, my job was to make my promises real. I promised to make sure people would be heard. Over the next 10 days we did our best. We filed lawsuits and sent people to all 159 counties to ensure provisional ballots were counted. Collecting stories of people being purged from the roll. Including a young woman at the age of 92 who is a cousin of dr. King. Place and the polling was told that since voting since 1968, for the first time her name was not on the roll. She was told she did not exist for the purposes of our election, even though she could tell you how that election came to be. Across the state of georgia we talked to folks because we wanted them to know the election was not about whether i won, it was about whether they were heard. And we found out they would not be heard. Some because they never made it to the starting line. Having been held hostage by a system called exact match, that the Obama Justice department that the Obama Administration told the Justice Department should not be used. Purged frompeople the rolls and precincts were shutdown. Done estimates that between 60,000 georgians cannot be heard in the 2018 election because the place for them to vote was too far away. Something that seems small and insignificant to those of us with cars and Public Transit becomes an impossible barrier when the only precinct is 10 miles away and you have a car. Or worse, when your job is to hours away and you dont get time off to vote. They let you have the time, but they take your money. That is not real. I spent a lot of time thinking about what could happen if i did not become governor. With all due respect to the jewish population, there is a term i learned while i was in law school. The notion of mourning. Not simply being upset and saddened by the passage of a loved one, but really sitting with that and understanding why the hurt is so deep, why the anger is social wrong, why the grief is overwhelming. I like to think that for that so iteriod i sat took 10 days instead of seven. As i wentt time, through what we were fighting for and i heard the reports day lawsuits. We won four thatlize that winning fight did not necessarily mean winning that election. My job, the job that i learn watching and listening and learning about the Civil Rights Movement was recognizing that victory to his not mean you get what you want. The wet john lewis and Maynard Jackson and others have taught us with their words and actions is sometimes the fight is enough. Sometimes the fight is the victory. Desperatelynt most is for us to shut up and sit down. So in those 10 days, i discovered that in addition to the seven stages of grief, there were there was an eighth stage no one told me about. I like to call it plotting. I started thinking about what could i do to do the work of justice. State. He work of the to do the work i struggled so hard for almost two years to convince people to let me try. If i could not be the governor, could i do the work without the title . The answer is, you cannot do that much. Its helpful to have the budget and the office and a really nice house. But you can do something. So my first something was called fair fight. I believed i could expand on the work that i did in Spelman College in 1991, when i march in 1992. L call their work i did as a student registering people to vote for the 1992 elections, as one of the happiest 18yearold in america because i could vote for the first time. Following my friends and trying to get them to sign up to vote, then coming back in training get them to pick my candidate. The work i did that took me to austria as part of the Youth Civic Engagement workshop to wee people understand how could make it real and engage communities that felt left out. Their fight is not new for me. It is a new name and new project and has more money than i did when i was in college. The mission is the same. The mission is the mission my parents raised me to understand when they took me and my five siblings to vote. Only trailed outside of the voting booth. Aswe watched every election they went in and voted. Fair fight is about ensuring that Voter Suppression finally meets its end in america. A fight we have been fighting since the inception of this nation, when black people recalled 3 5 of humans. Technically is that we counted for three out of every five. They countedty is, our bodies but not our souls. Voter suppression existed when you looked at the language and it not only desecrates the notion of being black, the indians cannot be counted if they are not taxed. Even though we had taken their land, they were not allowed to be a part of the nation that they preserved and build. Americansfrican became citizens, technically under the 13th amendment, native americans did not get citizenship in the u. S. Until 1924. As a nation, we have had a long history of Voter Suppression. Of saying only certain communities are worthy of being heard, and only certain ideas are granted access. Fair fight is about saying for the first time in the 21st century that that cannot stand. That we will not allow our voices to be silenced as our democracy changes, as our nation changes. We have the obligation to demand more from our leadership. Time, ing my shiva decided to launch an like the Civil Rights Movement had. That would move us where we needed to go in 2020. I started fair fight 2020 to make sure Voter Protection is in aace in every state that is swing state for the presidency, u. S. Senate, and down ballot races like secretary of state. That is the work we are doing. [applause] ms. Abrams as i said, i had 10 days. I came up with an Organization Called fair count. Of us whothose believe in progress and look to the work of dr. King, forget he did more work after 1965. We forget the poor peoples campaign. We forget his conversations about who we are and who we can be. And the senses is one of the most important instruments for telling that story. Yet, for so many reasons we pretend that we just remembered it every 10 years. Is the notion of the senses a counting of who we are as america. It is a story that we tell. My the first time in lifetime, stories are intentionally trying to lie about the answer. The Citizenship Question that tries to terrify the only latinos, but asianamericans, blacks, communities of color, communities of immigrants, attempting to force people into the shadows is telling a lie about who we are. This is a town of americans. Anyone who is here needs to be counted. Anyone within our borders and on our sure. Because of the story we tell we allocate 1. 5 trillion every year to those communities. Our school districts, to our hospitals, to our roads. We decide whether communities are lifted up or whether they because we down count prisoners where they are incarcerated and not where they come from. The senses decides whether or forward as a nation, or whether we stagnate and move backward. It also allocates political power for the next decade. It is not just about our congressional districts, although that is critical. Our School Boards are decided by the census. Our county commissions and city councils. The Electoral College votes allocated comes from the census. An Electoral College that is nothing more in the joining together of racism and classes and to create something that is an abomination to the notion of democracy. [applause] ms. Abrams i started a group called fair count because we are committed to ensuring that hard to count communities are counted in the 2020 census. We started in georgia, focusing on the fact that in georgia, the likely undercount of black people would cost over state 300 million per year. If we go nationwide, the cost is numeral. ,ut the opportunities are great if we do the work. If we count black and brown bodies, if we count our children, if we reach out to communities that will be cut off because the census is done online and they dont have access to the internet. Our is why our Industry Organization is putting in wifi to ensure that no matter where you live, you have access to the 2020 census. [applause] in fair count we Just Launched with Ayanna Pressley in massachusetts. We will go anywhere we are called, because i believe the census is a story of our future. We have to stop treating it as an event and treating it as a project. We have to think about it in 2020 one on we are portioned, 21 when they updated and planning 33. 2030 and 20 we have to believe we deserve to be a part of america, because if we are not counted, we do not count. Startedd organization i was called the southern Economic Advancement project. It is one of the closest that adheres to the call of dr. King. I hear about progressive policies and space were they have leadership that wants to see progress. I have these arguments with my friends who live in the north or the midwest, or on the east coast, who live on the west coast and say, you are not progressive because you are not pushing for this. I say i am trying to get this. I cannot fight for all when i cannot get some. One of our responsibility, especially in the deep south and southern regions, is to recognize progress belongs to us as well. We are just starting a little further behind the finish line. I started an organization because i believe that we can translate progress into something. That we can fight for change buying knowledge and the bridges that need to be built between idea and action. By investing in the small groups that do work, like helping the incarcerated get banking access when they get out. To talk about black farmers losing up to 90 of the land. Who liveg young people in the poorest parts of our state and were never asked about their future. We are going to do the work of policy because that is the work of justice. Where do we go from here . We go forward. 16, when inovember stood at another podium and said that i acknowledged the election, i also sent i cannot condone a system, that on its face, is wrong. If it is not true, right and proper, i can acknowledge the law is real, but i dont have to say its right. The way we move forward in 2020 is by believing that we both we deserve right. Access that we deserve and opportunity by a neurology net identity is not a sin, it is who we are. And that politics is how we get what we need. I stand here today and the legacy and in the story of the Civil Rights Movement. Where ida b wells spoke truth to power. And where dr. King king recognize that our greatest power sometimes was lifting our voices when it seemed hardest to be heard. I am here because i believe if we march on ballot boxes in 2020 and 2021, and 2022, if we march on ballot boxes and we start writing down the names, ideas and challenges we face and the man access from those we elect, whether we like them or not. If we march on ballot boxes we will get not what we deserve, we will get what we desire. That is how we win in the future. Thank you so much. [applause] members of Congress Today are meeting with a brief pro forma session. Abrams return to ms. Shortly. Thespeaker pro tempore the house willbe in order. The chair lays before the house a communication from the speaker. The clerk the speakers rooms, washington, d. C. February 18, 2020. Hereby appoint the honorable Jenifer Wexton to act as6 c1 speakerro tempore on this day. Signe, nancy pelosi, speaker of the house of representatives. Represenhe speaker pro tempore guest chaplain, mon senior stephen rossetti, church pchurch, washington, d. C. The caplain good and gracious god,we pray that you send down this place. May your purifying light cast out all evil and darkness. May it cast out eil spirits of discord and division, may we welcome into our hearts yor unity, you love, and your peace. We pray this in your holy name. Amen. Pursuant to section 4a of house resution 844, the jourl of the last days proceedings is approved. The chair will lead the house i pledge allegiance to the flg of the united sttes of america and to the republic for which god, indivisiblewith liberty an justice for all. Resolution 844, the house stands adjourned until 11 00 a. On friday, february wrapping up this brief house pro forma session, members tuesday. Forlegislative work now we return to remarks and former georgia candidate for governor Stacey Abrams. We join it in progress. Mportant whether or not i am afraid. I think that become so important to look at. You center in that in the beginning because you are the epitome of speaking truth to power. Engender, at least in some part, fear, but the fact that you are able to name a fear or an obstacle allows you to negotiate in some way. Can you unpack that for us . Ms. Abrams thank you, dr. Wright. Very intentional about this quote because i do believe that we are taught that power afraid. T being i am afraid a lot. I have lots of fears. We have got to know each other well. We go on vacations together. Fear is a natural part of trying. When you are moving towards something, if you dont have the certainty of what will become of your actions, then you should be afraid. But being afraid is not the reason not to try. Myt is what i learned from parents, especially my father. Who faced someone many obstacles. Novel orfill a dickens a Toni Morrison novel. The same for my mother. Toir reaction was never shrink that from the fight, but to understand why the fight was necessary, to be able to articulate to themselves why the Movement Made sense, and then to understand the fear that held them back, not to extinguish it, but deconstructed. Often when you start to deconstruct your fears, you recognize some of it is about you, some of it is about them and some of it is so ephemeral that there is no point in worrying about it. The book i wrote, the work i am doing now, the way i try to live my life is a recognition that fit fear cannot be the leader. It does not get to navigate my life. So,moment i allow it to do i exceeded my authority over who i am to something i cannot touch. We were on the stage a couple of years ago together, the construct of anger also came up. Out his anger play in that same quote . Is it parallel, or how does that work . Fullbrams there is a chapter on fear. I dont have a chapter on anger the cousin at the time i did not realize how angry i would be. [applause] [laughter] there is a wonderful scene in the avengers were bruce banner is called upon to be the incredible hulk. The incredible hulk is played in this movie. When get to this moment the world is in peril, aliens are attacking and captain america desperately needs the incredible hulk. He is terrified he cannot do it in this moment. Earlier there is a conversation about how bruce banner became the hulk. He said he had a secret. He said, whatever the secret is, we need you to do it. The spanish said the secret is, i am always angry. Said, theuce banner secret is, i am always angry. Racismways angry because is always attacking people who could change our role for the better. Im angry because homophobia and misogyny and issues of who we are block us from seeing what we can be. I am constantly angry about that. What i dont about anger to do is dictate my behavior. I let it fuel my actions. Nger can be powerful when its uncontrolled it turns into destruction. I have found out that when its harnessed, understood and acknowledged, it becomes power. I am not always angry, but pretty close. Read aboutfternoon i proposed budget cuts. A departure. Proposed budget cuts for andices to adolescence adulthood Face Mental Health crises. Cuts that will happen in the state of georgia not because we cant afford to do the work, but because we have made choices not assess the resources. I have a brother who is implemented of those choices. Brother is a brilliant man who went to this college, who did not graduate because his undiagnosed Mental Health disorder transmuted into a drug addiction that he still grapples with. , we live in a nation that does not give primacy to the treatment or incarceration. We live in a state where we have a leader who said he wants to do more for incarceration than he does for treatment, and that makes me angry. Directedcannot just be at this, it has to be directed at action. What can i do so that in 2020 and beyond we make sure those choices no longer have to be made. [applause] one of the things that you highlight in your book is his idea of the importance of power mapping and how that can seem tedious or overly dramatic, but you explain that it does not have to be. Can you talk about the significance of that . I asked that as you are contextualizing anger and fear, where power lies in that as well. I think it is impossible to be a conscious citizen of the world at this moment in history and i have some degree of anger. Reallyyou are a really, good billionaire who does not have to Pay Attention to anything. The reality is, if you are conscious of the world and the space that you occupy, you are going to be angry. You are going to be afraid. Those are legitimate reactions to what we see happening now only in our environment. What happens in our daily lives. Power mapping is a concept that ie for social justice stole from social justice movements. Sometimes we need the map the power we have in the power in our circles. Power aswe think is institutional and not contextual. I may not be able to do x, but we know it that person you could call that will know what to do. That is power mapping. Part of our responsibility in the legacy of dr. King is for us to take the power from this notion of these massive groups s and recognize it belongs to us. While we decide to bring it back to the simplistic space, what we can create is a way forward for people to care about in ways in the communities we serve. Youhave to think about who know, who you like, who you dont like, who you owe money to, who you are mad at, but it forces you into the conversation of how important is what we need to how i feel . How are mapping is an exercise that can compel you to create larger spaces for what you desire, and smaller spaces for what you are afraid of or angry about. Dr. Wright here is a question from the audience. There . Llo out is apollo out there . Apollos question is, what advice would you give someone of color who plans to run for governor . Ms. Abrams work on Voter Suppression first. We anticipated the Voter Suppression would be part of this election. I18 was not the first time tingled with the former secretary of state. He and i disagreed about a number of behaviors of his when it came to Voting Rights and voter registration. Made his leadership they black people prove that they were electors. He arrested a group of black women in georgia, accusing them a history of Voter Suppression i was not hidden. We build a Voter Suppression team. We were the only team that had a statewide Voter Suppression team in place. We were the only ones. I say that to say this. You cannot anticipate every obstacle. You dont run for office because you are worried about the obstacles, you run because you are concerned about the good. For people of color in particular, we have to recognize that we are a departure from the norm. Again, i am the only black woman who made it that far. And i still did not get it done. Have two black men three black men who have become governor. Duval patrick and governor David Paterson in your. That theo recognize road will be harder because we now only have to convince people that we can win, we have to convince people that they want us to win. That is not wrong. People are always afraid of what they dont know, what they dont understand what they have not seen before. That is why you get so comfortable with things that are mediocre. Mediocrity we understand. You can have the most novel and terrific new thing, but if you dont know how it works, you will stick with what you got. For a person of color, we have to prepare to do the work by being certain that we want the job. That we can articulate what we do with the job, and we will have to work hard to raise the resources to prove we can get the job. That does not guarantee success, but i can tell you our refusal to do those guarantees failure. Governors are among the most powerful political leaders in the nation and we often misunderstand how powerful it is. We often describe mass the crime bill. Mass incarceration start with governor Ronald Reagan in california. His the blame the of social safety net on a 1996 welfare reform bill. It was that, but it started because of governor tommy hudson in wisconsin. Stand your ground did not come up until jeb bush made it law in florida. Jim crow never had a single federal law. It was off the law made by governor. Happen, itchange to is insufficient to presume it has to come from the federal government. Iran for governor and not senate because i know the authority of an executive. The authority of an executive at the state level is transformative. Our absence of Voting Rights exist not because we have constitutional amendments, the because every Amendment Associated with Voting Rights delegate the authority to the state. Yes, you have the power, but it looks different depending on where you live. As on his we have 50 different democracies, we need good governors to run those democracies for all. [applause] another question from the audience. Eaton, can you stand up . His question is, what role do you anticipate playing in the president ial election, and would you consider the role of Vice President . No one has ever asked me that before. [laughter] number one, the role i intend to play and the role i intend to play until we have an election is that i will fight , verified rights actions, verify 2020. I believe if we do not secure Voting Rights and protect the rights of voters across the country, the outcome of 2020 election will not be a reflection of the will of the people. Number two, i will continue to fight for a census that reflects the power of our communities. Inmuch as we celebrated 2008, it was when happening in 2010 that decimated the possibility of so many opportunities. Because we did not Pay Attention , ande 2010 census gerrymandering destroyed congressional opportunities for progress. Those are the two things i know i will be doing. I wasn march of 2019, guy joe biden. I had election dinners with other candidates, but following lunch withonderful the Vice President , speculation began about me running as his Vice President. He did not ask, i did not and i got this unusual question about whether i would want to be Vice President long before we had candidates for office. At the time i said you do not run for second place in a primary. People listened to the second half of my conversation, is that i would be honored to stand in service with the nominee of our party. And if that nominee decides that they would like for me to serve as their running mate and potentially Vice President of the United States, i would be honored to do so. [applause] ms. Abrams i want to put a twist on this. I am are those who say being deeply ambitious or obnoxious, the thing is, i cannot because a about Something Like this. When women of color are given opportunities to declare their interests in service and in power, we are doing a disservice to everyone if we come back from it because were supposed to pretend disinterest. I am very interested. [applause] so, thank you for that response. Referencing your book you talked meritsou had different for not to concede the gubernatorial election. To accept the math but not consider it as right. I know you talked about that ahead of time before became out. That just alowing. Ittle bit, otherness you talk about otherness a lot in your book. You talk about how it is that you can examine otherness and understand it, kind of doing a swap analysis. You can do it as a strength or leverage it. I think especially as connected to what you have said as a woman flatteningo is not herself, that plays good. ,s. Abrams the strength weaknesses, opportunities and threats. In my book tolks do a personal analysis. Understand your strengths and weaknesses. The opportunities you have available. Otherness is often treated as a threat. It is a threat to those who dont understand it, and it is destabilization. When you are not the norm, people have to work to understand what you are. I see otherness as strength. You cannot tell me who i am because you dont understand it. I amse i get to define who , my otherness can take on dimension. Weakness of power. Sometimes we become so wrapped up in how we are not the norm, that we forget why the norm matters. Access to opportunity and people feeling they can engage you require some commonality. See otherness as a strength not only as a strength but as a weakness. It is an opportunity because it gives us a chance to change what we see and know to be true. I often describe myself as a black woman with natural hair. And yet i amied capable of being a strong leader. [applause] ms. Abrams every one of those k marks is an other ring othering. It is an indication of who i am. The fact that i would do this work despite not possessing the perks that i am told i am supposed to have, creates people to see themselves in power as well. Ensuringy it is about that would need to fuse and among as many people as possible, they believe they can lead their own lives. In my mind, otherness, when properly harnessed, is a transformative moment in our society when we see ourselves as connected. They sometimes in competition, but never with the need to diminish the other to make our self more. [applause] me wright they are telling i have no time left. I will buck the system a little bit. Ms. Abrams i am with you. Dr. Wright i know you are. A student asked a question. There is no name. Due what can every student to fight against Voter Suppression . Ms. Abrams you can go to fair fight. Com warfare fight. Org and sign up. Or fairfight. Com fight. Org and sign up. Help studentsd to getting gauged in the issue of Voter Suppression. Suppression is voter engagement. We need you because we need young people to vote and show up. We need you not to be frightened away by the terrible way students were treated in the 2018 election. Across the country we know student power is incredible before,we have not seen in the last two decades, i have not seen so many laws designed to diminish of voter power. In the state of texas and georgia, voter ids do not include student ids. That is for suppression. If they can take your money, they should take your votes. Lets recognize and go to fair fight. Com and let us know how we can use you. Youngher is that we need people to participate in the 2020 census. The census needs your existence. And often College Students are left out. They dont participate, their parents forget to count them, or they dont answer the call. We need you to molly respond, but volunteered to help other communities respond. If we are not counted, the next decade of our lives are in danger. The demographic changes happening in america are not static. They are dynamic and are terrifying some. We have to be counted so we can get the resources and political power we need. Please participate at fair count. Org. Thank you very much. [applause] this i think is going to be our last question. I cannot read the first name. Anybody, last name. If given a chance to amend the constitution without interference, what would you change . Ms. Abrams eliminate the Electoral College. [applause] ms. Abrams and establish a federal right to vote without interference that says if you are a citizen of the United States, you are automatically registered, and you have the right to vote in every election. [applause] so, with that, i will do a little housekeeping in bringing this to close. I have a few folks i want to make sure we think. We want to thank you all for being here. E want to thank the scholars we want to make sure we think the Andrew Young Center for global leadership. I want to say a few closing words to miss abrams. Usuallyl happen next is the society will come and close us out with song. But we will be given words of by our 10thpiration president of Morehouse College. Im going to take a personal point of privilege, we graduated the same year in 1995. I want to say that we love you so much, thank you for your example, and thank you for being a hero. A round of applause for miss abrams. Ms. Abrams thank you, david. [applause] ms. Abrams that was amazing. Dr. Wright thank you so much. Ms. Abrams thank you. Thank you. Some news from Stacey Abrams. Stacey abrams said monday she would be honored to be the Vice President ial pic of whoever secures the 2020 nomination. I got the question about running as vp during the primary, and i apparently famously said no. You dont run for second in a primary. She said that on abcs the view. A look now at some of our live Coverage Today on the cspan networks. Panelist at the council on Foreign Relations will discuss the coronavirus and threats to global health. See that live starting at 12 30 p. M. Eastern on cspan. Later, the interamerican dialogue hosted discussion on the political situation in venezuela. Live coverage starts at 2 05 p. M. Eastern, also here on cspan. Former p. M. Eastern, government officials discuss Lessons Learned from the war in afghanistan and respond to developments in the peace process. That is live from washington, d. C. Later on cspan today. Finally, from the campaign trail, wgbh tv in boston host a debate between senator ed markey and his challenger in the 2020 massachusetts democratic primary election, congress when joe kennedy. See that live at 7 00 p. M. Eastern on cspan, online at cspan. Org, or listen live with the free cspan radio app. Fierce debates took place between the husband and her husband. Whenever enemies. Were never enemies. Have any times did we slap each others back and laugh out the floor. Its a different time and i am sad about that. How do you remember it . John said he did not like teddy very much when he first met him. Maybe i saw a lot of myself in him. He grew to respect him. They were both on the Armed Services committee and he saw and teddy and teddy saw in john real patriotism. Love of this country. Even though they came at a different place, they both knew they cared about the country and they loved it. They just developed a bond. They found these little nuggets of Common Ground where they could work together. Tonight on cspan, Sidney Kennedy discuss their husbands careers and legacies in a conversation at the Kennedy School of government harvard university. See the entire program at 8 00 p. M. Eastern here on cspan. During this election season the candidates beyond the talking points are only revealed over time. Since you cant be everywhere there is cspan. Our campaign 2020 programming differs from all other political coverage for one simple reason. It is cspan. We have brought you your unfiltered view government every day since 1979. This year we are bringing you an unfiltered view of the people seeking to steer that discussion this november. In other words, your future. This election season go direct and unfiltered. See the biggest picture for yourself and make up your own mind with cspans campaign 2020. Brought to you as a Public Service by your television provider. Next, american universitys college of law host discussion analyzing the trump administrations immigration policies. Panelist discuss the legal issues involving family separation, including challenges for reuniting families and providing services to children dealing with trauma. From friday, this just over an hour and 40 minutes