Our Time Is Now: Power, Purpose, and the Fight for a Fair America
From New York Times bestselling author of Lead From The Outside and political leader Stacey Abrams, a blueprint to end voter suppression, empower our citizens, and take back our country.
"With each page, she inspires and empowers us to create systems that reflect a world in which all voices are heard and all people believe and feel that they matter." —Kerry Washington
A recognized expert on fair voting and civic engagement, Abrams chronicles a chilling account of how the right to vote and the principle of democracy have been and continue to be under attack. Abrams would have been the first African American woman governor, but experienced these effects firsthand, despite running the most innovative race in modern politics as the Democratic nominee in Georgia. Abrams didn’t win, but she has not conceded. The book compellingly argues for the importance of robust voter protections, an elevation of identity politics, engagement in the census, and a return to moral international leadership.
Our Time Is Now draws on extensive research from national organizations and renowned scholars, as well as anecdotes from her life and others’ who have fought throughout our country’s history for the power to be heard. The stakes could not be higher. Here are concrete solutions and inspiration to stand up for who we are?now.
"This is a narrative that describes the urgency that compels me and millions more to push for a different American story than the one being told today. It's a story that is one part danger, one part action, and all true. It's a story about how and why we fight for our democracy and win." ?Stacey Abrams
Reviews (114)
Great until the end
First off I will begin by labelling myself as a "swing voter" as she describes in her book. I am neither Republican nor Democrat, Conservative nor Liberal. Who I am leaning towards in the 2020 Presidential election would not have been my choice in previous years. I maintain no loyalty to one party. I would vote for a trans black woman just as easily as I would vote for a straight white Christian male. It doesn't matter to me. That being said, Abrams does a great job presenting the facts about the importance of voting in the American political arena as well as the dark, often deliberate evils of voter suppression. That alone was 5 stars. For the first half of the book or so I thought that she had a bad habit of lumping all Republicans and Conservatives together, that they are all complicit in voter suppression and in cahoots with Brian Kemp, Governor of Georgia. Kemp is a bad, bad guy, there is no question about that. However, she could have elaborated on what drives Republican and Conservative voters to vote for stricter voting laws; I don't believe that it is strictly a racial issue for the average everyday Conservative but can be derived from understanding Conservative values and morals. I was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt for the most part of the book though. Minus one star. The chapter on Populism was oddly out of place and simply an unapologetic attack on Donald Trump. Pointing fingers and calling people names and blaming problems on one person does not help the situation. And then in the afterword she essentially places all of the blame on America's fallen status on American conservatives harking back to the Ronald Reagan era. This was an unquantifiable claim that again, felt oddly out of place considering how she masterfully presented quantifiable facts about voter suppression earlier in the book. Minus one star. Overall good. I would suggest it. I also would suggest to her to not let her emotion overcome the facts as it weakens the argument and makes her appear incredibly bitter and biased.
Essential Reading for Every American
I have been aware of Stacey Abrams since 2018 during the election when the Georgian gubernatorial race was stolen from her by a corrupt election official who was also running for Governor (Brian Kemp). What I didn't realize until cracking open this book is how rampant voter corruption is across America, multi-layered and thick with bureaucracy that prevents hundreds of thousands of Americans from casting their vote in every election. This is essential reading for every American, especially approaching the 2020 Presidential elections! Stacey Abrams is currently still in the running for Biden's VP pick, and I think she is very worthy of that role just by what I've learned about her in this book. Must read!
Essential Primer, Voting Rights
I'm an older white male. I needed this book to significantly educate me on voting rights issues, Census2020 issues and what can be done. I wholeheartedly recommend this book, and many other Americans should read it this Summer.
Required reading for anyone who cares
When Stacey Abrams first burst into the news as a prime contender for the governorship of Georgia, where I lived and voted for over 30 years, my only regret was that I’d already moved to New Mexico, hence could not vote for her. However, I followed the politics of my former home state closely, and like most of my friends, was outraged and appalled by the shenanigans of the officials who so nefariously rigged the election, denying many voters their franchise and thereby putting her competitor into office. Since then, I’ve followed Abrams’ efforts with avid attention, have contributed to “Fair Fight”, and now have purchased her landmark book. “Our Time is Now: Power, Purpose, and the Fight for a Fair America” must be the marching orders and game plan for anyone who hopes to save democracy for our Nation and perhaps even the entire world. Abrams shares a small amount of personal history to emphasize a great deal of documentary information on the evolution of voting rights in the country, including the legislation and court decisions which have had major impact over the decades. The book is scholarly and thoroughly annotated, and at the same time extremely contemporary and totally accessible. Most important, though, the book is completely authentic. Although I left Georgia before the worst of the voter suppression efforts kicked in there prior to the 2012 election, and although I was blessed to be in Congressional District Five (the one which elected Congressman John Lewis over and over), I knew that our “favored status” in that part of Atlanta was NOT universal throughout the state. Subsequently, after moving to Albuquerque, I found I was blessed again beyond all dreaming; New Mexico surely has one of the most accessible election processes in the US. Indeed, many of the things Abrams’ book speaks about -- easy registration; totally accessible early and mail-in voting; bi-lingual paper ballots issued individually from printers on site; and (what amazed me most) the fact that polling places are not limited to precincts -- are totally available here. If New Mexico can do it, why can’t everybody? Obviously, the impediment is not the lack of technology, but the determination of the traditional “white male power structure” to limit the franchise to the “chosen few”. This book is truthful, hard-hitting, and absolutely relevant. It is also highly entertaining; as she points out while discussing the “Use It or Lose It” purging of eligible voters, one doesn’t lose one’s 2nd Amendment rights if one doesn’t go hunting, nor are 1st Amendment rights predicated on regular church attendance! This is required reading for anyone who cares.
Expand your knowledge of what's is & isn't happening in US politics
The good ol' boy network is still around in 2020. We must embrace our roles in guiding our country back to decency by voting and advocating for the diversity that defines the US. Stacey Abrams is a women capable of being a great leader... if we only let her.
Stacey Abrams Our Time Is Now
Great read!
I believe that Stacey Abrams lost the election because of voters suppression.
I learned a great deal about humility, and voter's suppression which comes in all shapes and forms.
TINY, TINY Print
Haven’t read the book yet, because the print is so tiny I can hardly read it
Amazing...A+++++...where do we go from here?
Hi! Wow! What an impactful story. Worth reading and sharing Stacey's story. Love to see Stacey get all the organizations (hers, League of Women Voters, etc.) together under one unbrella to enact: 1) You are automatically registered to vote when you are born (part of your birth certificate), become a Citizen, get a driver's license, get a social security number, etc. If you don't want to vote, you opt out. If you move, it is up to YOU to change your voter's registration. Never could understand why one has to register to vote when it is your right as a citizen. If you die, then you are removed from voting with a death certificate. Otherwise the voting rolls are left as is. 2) Voting by mail is expanded. The post office is no longer run by a Trump appointee for his benefit. 3) Redistricting is done by an impartial panel. No more gerrymandering. 4) Outlaw "secret" rules in States. 5) Get rid of the Electoral College. Just because something is done one way doesn't mean that it is right or still relevant. 6) Federally mandated guidelines for voting are drawn up so that States still control their own voting BUT must follow certain guidelines to make voting fair. 7) In a great world, it would be wonderful to have EVERY USA high school student have to study abroad for six months. Haiti, Germany, China, etc. are great places to learn how BIG the world really is and how small it is, too. It changes your prospective when you see first hand how others live and how you fit into their cultures. How can one help with this cause?
Best read of the year!
Voter suppression turns my stomach and the atrocities and injustices that have occurred in our county, the USA, are shameful in our country's history, and at present. Early 2020, I googled "history of Voter suppression in America" and am so very glad I found a reference to this book. I ordered it, read it cover to cover. Twice. It is so tragic that our "democracy" is still not a true democracy. Where is the accountability for this outcome? Abrams research and intelligent discussion of the history of methods used to suppress the vote in our country is very depressing. Yet Abrams is not depressed, or a victim; she is a very positive, brilliant and tireless leader who has dedicated her life to empowering others to recognize and fight against the egregious intimidation and suppression of voters in our country. I cannot thank her enough for taking the time to record these shameful histories. Voter suppression must first be identified, acknowledged, and prevented if we are to be a democracy. I would like now to know more about 1) the penalties for voter suppression and 2) accountability of those who are guilty. I pray for a better America where every voter is engaged, informed, empowered and able to vote. And where leaders AND citizens support those efforts, rather than thwart them.
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