"STACEY AND AZZIE"

 “STACEY AND AZZIE”

I give thanks that Sue Thompson, an Oakhurst member,  who now lives in Florida, invited Stacey Abrams to worship at  Oakhurst.  She wanted Oakhurst members to meet Stacey because she was running for state representative.   It was on that Sunday that Stacey engaged one of the all-time great elders of Oakhurst, Azzie Preston.  Azzie began to grill her about her political motivations and ambitions. Later that year, Azzie asked me to invite  Stacey to preach at Oakhurst.  

    We invited Stacey to preach, and she delivered a powerful sermon on the grace and call of God,  a call that emphasized God’s love for humanity and our call to serve humanity in God’s name.  Stacey would speak several more times at Oakhurst, and she said that if her parents weren’t United Methodist ministers, she would join Oakhurst.  I know that she probably said that to all the churches, but it felt good to hear it at the time.  

     The presentation by Stacey that I remember the most was when she spoke at Azzie’s funeral in March, 2009, in the sanctuary of Oakhurst.  She talked about going over to Azzie’s house to discuss the campaign. Stacey indicated that Azzie then began to “school” her on canvassing Azzie’s neighborhood, but not only Azzie’s neighborhood bur many other neighborhoods.  Azzie had great insight into the elections process, but she had even more insight into motivating people to register and to vote.  Stacey told us that it was nothing new for Azzie – as a young adult, Azzie had organized a busload of people to travel to Washington, DC to be part of the historic 1963 March on Washington.  And Stacey paid a great tribute to Azzie:  “She helped bring me home on this process.  She taught me that people can be motivated to register and to vote – they simply want to know that their votes count.”

    We have seen the fruits of that relationship between Stacey and Azzie unfold in this past week.  I did not think that Joe Biden had a chance to beat the Trumpdemic in Georgia, but Stacey had learned her lessons well, and along with many others, she helped to organize the extraordinary turnout in Georgia, a turnout that looks to have won Georgia for Joe Biden.  I was thinking about this relationship and this story as President-Elect Joe Biden spoke on Saturday night and credited Black women with being the foundation of the Democratic party.

    Stacey stayed in touch with Oakhurst, and I was humbled and honored to have her speak at my retirement celebration.  She also wrote the powerful foreword for the book that Catherine Meeks and wrote "Passionate for Justice: Ida B. Wells as Prophet for Our Time."  Caroline was one of the central organizers of a Decatur event for Stacey at Agnes Scott in 2018 during her governor’s race.  We expect to see her soon in the Governor’s house.  In her sermon at Oakhurst, she told an incredible story about her first trip to the Governor’s house.  She was valedictorian of Avondale High school in the Atlanta area, and at that time the Governor of Georgia invited all the valedictorians to attend an event at the Governor’s house to celebrate their singular achievements.  Stacey’s parents were poor seminary students and did not have a car, so they rode the bus to the Governor’s house.  When they arrived, the guard would not let them in because he could not believe that a high school valedictorian would be riding the bus.  Stacey’s parents finally prevailed on the guard to let them in, and from that moment on, Stacey vowed that when she got to be Governor, the Governor’s house would be open to all.

    That is the vision that Stacey and Azzie and so many others fought for, and it is the vision that Stacey continues to lead in us, as we celebrate the great victory for Joe Biden in defeating Donald Trump in the presidential election last week.  We know that the Trumpdemic will not go gracefully, partly because it is not in his nature, but mainly because he is a manifestation of white, male supremacy, a force that never goes gracefully or quietly.  The fact that the Trumpdemic got the second most votes in the history of presidential elections tells us that the forces of racism and sexism and materialism and homophobia remain strong and powerful.  Let us  give thanks for the Stacey Abrams and Azzie Prestons of this world,  and let us step into our places in the parade of witnesses for truth, justice and equity.   Start registering more people to vote in the Georgia senatorial run-offs in January – deadline for registration is December 7.  Vote early too – the runoff is January 5!