Stacey Abrams and the Fight to Vote

Todd’s artfully conceived biography of activist and politician Stacey Abrams arises from an intriguing premise. When voting rights in contemporary Georgia are threatened, the disruption awakens a heavenly chorus of iconic Black women elders who moved the needle on civil rights: Sojourner Truth, Ida B. Wells, Fannie Lou Hamer, and Septima Poinsette Clark. From “that faraway place where the ancestors sit,” the four review the history of voting rights and narrate Abrams’s life, from her early love of reading and “learning big, juicy words,” to her attending Atlanta’s Spelman College, and, finally, her loss in the 2018 Georgia gubernatorial race, during which thousands of voters were disenfranchised. Freeman’s airbrush-style digital art leans into portraiture while visually bridging the astral divide, evoking yearning, frustration, and sisterly pride in their ongoing mission of purpose. Endnotes include brief bios of the figures mentioned, and a voting rights timeline. Ages 4–8. (Aug.)