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NEW: Stacey Abrams on why gutting of the US Voting Rights Act is ‘evil’ – Stateside with Kai and Carter

5/17/202636 min

The US supreme court demolished the 1965 Voting Rights Act when they ruled in Louisiana v Callais in April that states can’t consider race in redistricting. Southern states from Tennessee to Alabama have rushed to erase majority Black districts, sparking chaos for the midterm elections. Kai Wright talks with Stacey Abrams, voting rights activist and former Georgia house minority leader, about the fallout from the decision, and why, even now, she thinks the way forward is still through engaging more voters to participate in democracy: “They have fractured communities and said we’re going to scatter these seeds. Our job is to grow.”. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/politicspod

Clips

From Optimism To Determination
Naming Authoritarian Tactics
This Is Bad Law
We Lack A Right To Vote
Tennessee’s Map And The Picture
Hospital Room Resolve
Cheat Codes And Consequences
Different Destinations Now

Transcript preview

First 90 seconds

  1. Kai Wright· Host0:00

    This is The Guardian.

  2. Pippa Crerar· Host0:01

    [upbeat music] Hi, it's Pippa.

  3. Kiran Stacey· Host0:10

    And Kieran.

  4. Pippa Crerar· Host0:10

    And today we're bringing you something different, the launch episode of our brand new show out of The Guardian's New York office called Stateside with Kai and Carter.

  5. Kiran Stacey· Host0:19

    Their first episode is with voting rights activist and former Georgia House minority leader Stacey Abrams. She's talking about the recent voter suppression efforts in the Southern states following a US Supreme Court decision in Louisiana.

  6. Pippa Crerar· Host0:31

    They'll be releasing episodes on their feed every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday wherever you get this podcast and in video on YouTube and Apple Podcasts. Enjoy this episode.

  7. Stacey Abrams· Guest0:40

    My nieces and nephews, they are the first generation to lose civil rights since Reconstruction. This is evil, but it's also so pedestrian. They can't win on their ideas, and so their solution is to silence the other side. But this time what they have done is misread the moment, and that's the part that gives me not optimism, but determination. Optimism says I'm sure we'll win. Determination says I'm going to win.

  8. Kai Wright· Host1:12

    [upbeat music] I'm Kai Wright.

  9. Carter Sherman· Host1:20

    I'm Carter Sherman.

  10. Kai Wright· Host1:21

    And from The Guardian, this is Stateside. Carter, here we are. It is the first episode of Stateside.

  11. Carter Sherman· Host1:29

    I know.

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