History of Stacey Abrams in Timeline
Stacey Abrams is an American politician, lawyer, voting rights activist, and author prominent in Georgia politics. She served in the Georgia House of Representatives from 2007 to 2017, becoming minority leader in 2011. In 2018, she founded Fair Fight Action, an organization dedicated to combating voter suppression. Abrams is widely recognized for her work to increase voter turnout, particularly in Georgia, and her efforts are credited with contributing to Democratic victories in the 2020 presidential election and the 2020-21 Senate elections, which ultimately gave the Democratic Party control of the Senate.
1956: Confederate Battle Flag Added
In 1956, the Confederate battle flag was added to the Georgia state flag as an anti-civil rights movement action, this flag was burned in the protest in which Stacey Abrams participated in 1992.
1966: First State of the Union Response
In 1966, the State of the Union responses began.
December 9, 1973: Stacey Abrams Born
On December 9, 1973, Stacey Yvonne Abrams was born in the United States. She is an American politician, lawyer, voting rights activist, and author.
1989: Family Moved to Atlanta
In 1989, Stacey Abrams' family moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where her parents pursued graduate degrees at Emory University.
1990: Telluride Association Summer Program
In 1990, Stacey Abrams was selected for the Telluride Association Summer Program.
1991: Graduated as Valedictorian
In 1991, Stacey Abrams graduated as valedictorian from Avondale High School.
1992: Georgia Capitol Protest
In 1992, as a freshman, Stacey Abrams participated in a protest on the steps of the Georgia Capitol and joined in burning the Georgia state flag.
1994: Harry S. Truman Scholar
In 1994, Abrams was a Harry S. Truman Scholar.
1995: Graduated from Spelman College
In 1995, Stacey Abrams graduated magna cum laude from Spelman College with a Bachelor of Arts in interdisciplinary studies (political science, economics, and sociology).
1998: Masters of Public Affairs
In 1998, Abrams obtained her Masters of Public Affairs.
2001: 30 Leaders of the Future
In 2001, Ebony magazine named Abrams one of "30 Leaders of the Future".
2002: Deputy City Attorney
In 2002, at age 29, Stacey Abrams was appointed a deputy city attorney for the City of Atlanta.
2004: Georgia Trend's "40 Under 40"
In 2004, Abrams was named to Georgia Trend's "40 Under 40" list.
2006: Elected to Georgia House
In 2006, Stacey Abrams ran for the 84th District for the Georgia House of Representatives and won the Democratic primary election with 51% of the vote.
2007: Representative for House District 84
In 2007, Stacey Abrams began representing House District 84 in the Georgia House of Representatives.
2007: Georgia House of Representatives
In 2007, Stacey Abrams was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives, where she served until 2017.
2009: Most Recent Selena Montgomery Book
In 2009, Abrams published her most recent book under the pen name Selena Montgomery.
November 2010: Elected Minority Leader
In November 2010, the Democratic caucus elected Stacey Abrams to succeed DuBose Porter as minority leader.
2010: Co-founded Nourish, Inc.
In 2010, Stacey Abrams co-founded Nourish, Inc., originally conceived as a beverage company for infants and toddlers.
2011: Minority Leader
In 2011, Stacey Abrams became the minority leader in the Georgia House of Representatives, a position she held until 2017.
2011: HOPE Scholarship Reform
In 2011, Stacey Abrams cooperated with Republican governor Nathan Deal's administration to reform the HOPE Scholarship program, co-sponsoring legislation to preserve the program.
2011: Stopped Tax Increase
In 2011, Stacey Abrams stopped the largest tax increase in Georgia history, arguing that a Republican proposal would increase taxes for most people.
2012: Voter Registration Cancellations Begin
Between 2012 and 2018, Kemp's office cancelled over 1.4 million voter registrations.
2012: John F. Kennedy New Frontier Award
In 2012, Abrams received the John F. Kennedy New Frontier Award.
2013: 100 Most Influential Georgians
In 2013, Abrams was one of the "100 Most Influential Georgians" by Georgia Trend.
2013: Representative for House District 89
In 2013, following reapportionment, Stacey Abrams began representing District 89 in the Georgia House.
2014: Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star Award
In 2014, EMILY's List recognized Abrams as the inaugural recipient of the Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star Award.
2014: Public Official of the Year
In 2014, Governing Magazine named Abrams a Public Official of the Year.
2015: Deferred Taxes
Abrams deferred her 2015 taxes, which she stated was necessary to help with her family's medical bills.
2015: 100 Most Influential Georgians
In 2015, Abrams was one of the "100 Most Influential Georgians" by Georgia Trend.
2016: Deferred Taxes
Abrams deferred her 2016 taxes, which she stated was necessary to help with her family's medical bills.
2016: 100 Most Influential Georgians
In 2016, Abrams was one of the "100 Most Influential Georgians" by Georgia Trend.
2016: Religious Liberty Bill Veto
In 2016, Governor Deal vetoed the religious liberty bill.
July 2017: Voter Registration Cancellations
In July 2017, half a million voters had their registrations canceled in Georgia, under the watch of Secretary of State Kemp.
August 25, 2017: Resigned from General Assembly
On August 25, 2017, Stacey Abrams resigned from the General Assembly to focus on her gubernatorial campaign.
2017: 100 Most Influential Georgians
In 2017, Abrams was one of the "100 Most Influential Georgians" by Georgia Trend.
2017: Voter Registration Purge
In 2017, Kemp, as secretary of state, purged nearly 670,000 voter registrations, which Abrams argued suppressed turnout and created a conflict of interest.
2017: Resigned from General Assembly
In 2017, Stacey Abrams resigned from the Georgia General Assembly to focus on her gubernatorial campaign.
April 2018: Op-Ed on Debt
In April 2018, Abrams revealed she owed $54,000 in federal back taxes and $174,000 in debt in an op-ed for Fortune.
April 2018: Publication of "Minority Leader"
In April 2018, Abrams's book, "Minority Leader: How to Lead from the Outside and Make Real Change", was published.
October 2018: Voter Registration Applications on Hold
In early October 2018, more than 53,000 voter registration applications were put on hold by Kemp's office, with over 75% belonging to minorities.
November 6, 2018: Lost Election for Governor
On November 6, 2018, Stacey Abrams lost the election for governor of Georgia by 54,723 votes.
November 9, 2018: Atlanta Journal-Constitution Investigation Findings
On November 9, 2018, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported the findings of its investigation into the 2018 Georgia elections, stating there was no evidence of systematic malfeasance or enough tainted votes to force a runoff election.
November 16, 2018: Ended Campaign and Created Fair Fight Action
On November 16, 2018, Stacey Abrams ended her campaign, not conceding but acknowledging the impossibility of a runoff, and announced the creation of Fair Fight Action.
December 2018: Fair Fight Lawsuit Initiated
In December 2018, Fair Fight Action's lawsuit was initiated, alleging long lines, voter ID rules impacting minorities, improper voter roll maintenance, and inadequate poll worker training.
2018: Voter Registration Cancellations
Between 2012 and 2018, Kemp's office cancelled over 1.4 million voter registrations.
2018: Featured in "All In: The Fight For Democracy"
In 2018, Abrams was featured in "All In: The Fight For Democracy", a documentary about voter suppression.
2018: Gubernatorial Nominee
In 2018, Stacey Abrams became the Democratic nominee in the Georgia gubernatorial election, marking her as the first African-American female major-party gubernatorial nominee in the United States; she narrowly lost the election to Brian Kemp.
2018: Founded Fair Fight Action
In 2018, Stacey Abrams founded Fair Fight Action, an organization focused on addressing voter suppression.
2018: Won Democratic Nomination
In 2018, Stacey Abrams won the Democratic nomination for governor of Georgia, becoming the first Black woman in the U.S. to be a major party's nominee for governor.
2018: Accusations of Voter Suppression
In 2018, during the election between Stacey Abrams and Brian Kemp, Kemp was accused of voter suppression in his role as Georgia's secretary of state.
January 29, 2019: Schumer Announces Abrams to Respond to State of the Union
On January 29, 2019, Chuck Schumer announced that Abrams would deliver the response to the State of the Union address.
February 2019: State of the Union Response
In February 2019, Stacey Abrams became the first African-American woman to deliver a response to the State of the Union address.
April 30, 2019: Abrams Declines to Run for U.S. Senate
On April 30, 2019, Abrams announced that she would not run for the U.S. Senate in 2020, despite recruitment efforts, citing a need to focus on ending voter suppression.
August 17, 2019: Founding of Fair Fight 2020
On August 17, 2019, Abrams announced the founding of Fair Fight 2020, an organization to assist Democrats in building voter protection teams.
2019: Payment of Back Taxes
In 2019, Abrams completed payment of her back taxes to the IRS.
2019: Vote for Speaker of the U.S. House
In 2019, Abrams received a single vote, from Kathleen Rice, in the election for Speaker of the U.S. House.
2019: Distinguished Public Service Award
In 2019, Abrams received the Distinguished Public Service Award from the University of Texas LBJ School of Public Affairs.
2019: Spoke at CFR's Conference on Diversity in International Affairs
In 2019, Abrams spoke at CFR's Conference on Diversity in International Affairs.
2019: Most Influential African American Aged 25 to 45
In 2019, Abrams was named the most influential African American aged 25 to 45 by The Root.
June 2020: Publication of "Our Time Is Now"
In June 2020, Abrams's book, "Our Time Is Now: Power, Purpose, and the Fight for a Fair America", was published.
August 11, 2020: Harris Announced as Biden's Running Mate
On August 11, 2020, Kamala Harris was officially announced as Joe Biden's running mate.
December 2020: Voting Machines Claims Dropped
In December 2020, Fair Fight dropped the claims about voting machines, around the time that Donald Trump made baseless claims about voting machine problems in Georgia.
2020: Boost in Democratic Votes in Georgia
After Biden won the 2020 U.S. presidential election, Abrams was credited with a large boost in Democratic votes in Georgia and an estimated 800,000 new voter registrations.
2020: Declines to Run for Senate
In 2020, Abrams declined to run for the U.S. Senate, citing a need to focus on ending voter suppression.
2020: Fair Fight 2020
In 2020, Abrams founded Fair Fight 2020, an organization to assist Democrats in building voter protection teams.
2020: Boosted Voter Turnout
In 2020, Stacey Abrams's efforts were credited with boosting voter turnout in Georgia, contributing to Joe Biden's narrow win in the state and Democratic control of the Senate.
2020: Cybercrimes Investigation
In 2020, two days before the election, Kemp's office announced an investigation into the Georgia Democratic Party for unspecified "possible cybercrimes," which were later found to be false.
February 2021: Federal Judge Ruling
In February 2021, a federal judge ruled that Fair Fight's claims were resolved by changes in Georgia's election law or invalidated due to lack of standing to sue.
April 2021: Legal Claims Proceed
In April 2021, a judge allowed some claims in the legal challenge to proceed while rejecting others.
May 11, 2021: "While Justice Sleeps" Released
On May 11, 2021, Stacey Abrams released "While Justice Sleeps" under her real name.
May 2021: Publication of "While Justice Sleeps"
In May 2021, "While Justice Sleeps" was published under her own name, and an adaptation of the novel into a television series began development.
December 1, 2021: Abrams Announces Run for Governor
On December 1, 2021, Abrams announced she would run again for governor of Georgia.
December 2021: "Stacey's Extraordinary Words" Published
In December 2021, Stacey Abrams published a children's book titled "Stacey's Extraordinary Words".
2021: Nomination for Nobel Peace Prize
In 2021, Abrams was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for her nonviolent campaign to get out the vote.
2021: Nomination for Primetime Emmy Award
In 2021, Abrams was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance for her work on Black-ish.
May 24, 2022: Abrams Runs Unopposed in Democratic Primary
On May 24, 2022, Abrams ran unopposed in the Democratic primary for Georgia governor.
October 2022: Federal Judge Ruled Against Fair Fight
In October 2022, a federal judge ruled against Fair Fight on the remaining claims.
November 8, 2022: Abrams Loses Election to Kemp
On November 8, 2022, Abrams lost the election to Brian Kemp for governor of Georgia and conceded that night.
2022: Second Gubernatorial Run
In 2022, Stacey Abrams ran for governor of Georgia for a second time as the Democratic nominee, but lost to Brian Kemp by a larger margin than in 2018.
March 2023: Hired as Senior Counsel
In March 2023, Stacey Abrams was hired as senior counsel by Rewiring America, a community electrification advocacy nonprofit group.
April 5, 2023: Appointed to Howard University Chair
On April 5, 2023, Howard University announced the appointment of Abrams to the inaugural Ronald W. Walters Endowed Chair for Race and Black Politics.
