Old photos from a 1992 protest where Stacey Abrams can be seen partaking in a flag burning are being used to discredit the Democratic candidate for Georgia governor.
Before Stacey Abrams became a politician, she worked tirelessly as a student-activist during her time at Spelman College. In 1992, a freshman Abrams was one of many calling for the state to replace the Confederate battle flag.
According to The New York Times, images and newspaper clippings from two decades ago began to resurface ahead of the first debate between Abrams and her Republican challenger Brian Kemp on Tuesday.
Abrams was reportedly near the end of her first year at the historically black college when she participated in the protest. Since the reemerging of the clips, she has been accused of being a divisive figure by Kemp's camp and other right-wingers.
However, in a statement from her camp, she said her public service has proven those allegations to be false.
“During Stacey Abrams’ college years, Georgia was at a crossroads, struggling with how to overcome racially divisive issues, including symbols of the Confederacy, the sharpest of which was the inclusion of the Confederate emblem in the Georgia state flag,” the statement read. “This conversation was sweeping across Georgia as numerous organizations, prominent leaders, and students engaged in the ultimately successful effort to change the flag.
"Abrams’ time in public service as deputy city attorney and as a state legislative leader have all been focused on bringing people together to solve problems.”
The Associated Press reports Georgia's former controversial flag was first flown in 1956 as a rebuke to the civil rights movement.
For years, the flag became a hot-button political issue especially around the 1996 Olympic Games held in Atlanta. Protests and debates finally put the old symbol to white supremacy to bed in 2003.
Georgia's race for governor has been dominated by voter suppression and issues pertaining to the infringement of voter's rights. Kemp, who serves as the election chief, has refused to step down amid reports of his attempts to suppress the Black vote after 53,000 voters were purged from voter registrations.
If Abrams wins in November, she will make history as the first Black woman to be governor in the U.S.
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