Monday’s decision by a grand jury in Fulton County, Georgia, to indict former President Donald Trump and 18 co-defendants for illegally trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election was a full-circle moment for me and those of us at Black Voters Matter.
Turning Georgia blue was a monumental achievement. It served as a reality check for America that Black voters, particularly Black voters in the South, are a powerful force.
We work every day to increase power in marginalized, predominantly Black communities, and we believe effective voting allows a community to determine its own destiny. In 2020, like many other advocacy groups from across the country, we knocked on doors, held bus tours and community events, and hosted virtual gatherings across the country. We supported local organizers and used messages emphasizing love and hope to engage and mobilize voters, because we believed, and still believe, that power organized is power realized.
In the Peach State, from rural towns like Sparta to the big city of Atlanta, our efforts were even more critical. Despite suppression efforts, more than 1 million Black Georgia voters cast their ballots even before Election Day, a turnout that played a decisive role in determining the winner of that election. Turning Georgia blue was a monumental achievement. It served as a reality check for America that Black voters, particularly Black voters in the South, are a powerful force.
Monday’s indictment was a full-circle moment for me. My grandfather carried an old poll-tax receipt in his wallet to remind him that the right to vote didn’t come easy, and it wasn’t guaranteed. I thought of that as I watched the stories about the indictment this week. If Trump had been able to overturn the election, it would have sent a message to white supremacists that it was open season on the rights of Black voters. But what we know, what we’ve always known, is that Black voters stand up for what is right — even when centuries of oppression and hate have tried to prove otherwise.
Trump failed to overturn the election in Georgia thanks, in part, to the tireless efforts of Georgia’s democracy defenders who stood up for voters and upheld the rule of law, no matter the cost. From Coffee County voters, who fought efforts to disenfranchise Black residents and restrict their ability to participate in the electoral process to election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, who stood strong when Trump and his associates falsely accused them of ballot tampering, all those heroes played a key role in making sure Georgia’s election results reflected the will of the people.
Now Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is doing her part by bringing charges against those who are accused of trying to change Georgia’s 2020 election results so that they wouldn’t reflect the people’s will.
All of us who love democracy are indebted to these defenders and to the many other unsung heroes who protected our electoral system from what would have been irreparable harm. Unsurprisingly, Trump, his associates and his supporters have often targeted women who were involved in making sure the results were right, following the misogynistic playbook Trump used against Hillary Clinton. They were defamed on social media and on television. Yet they stood up for truth and democracy. And as the scripture says, the truth shall make you free.
Our nation is at a crossroads and must choose between our democratic values and the win-at-all-costs hyperpartisanship that dominates our political system.
Monday’s indictment is indeed a major step. But if we only use this moment to focus on Trump, then we’ve missed the mark. We must also address the erosion of democratic values that makes it possible for a twice-impeached former president with four indictments that accuse him of having committed a total of 91 felonies to still be the Republican front-runner in the 2024 presidential election.
Our nation is at a crossroads and must choose between our democratic values and the win-at-all-costs hyperpartisanship that dominates our political system. I’ve seen the damage done to our democracy with my own eyes, not just in Georgia, but across the United States. Our fundamental freedoms shouldn’t be subject to the will of any political party. We need legislation at every level of government that protects our ability to participate in democracy. What Black Voters Matter and others involved in the defense of voting rights want is to revitalize our antiquated electoral system. We could begin by establishing a “Department of Democracy” whose explicit purpose is to protect the voting rights of all citizens, similar to the creation of the Department of Homeland Security after 9/11. We know it can be done, but do we have the will? These changes may sound daunting. But one of the most important lessons we can learn from Georgia’s democracy defenders is that we all have a role and the power to defend it. Each person who defended Georgia’s election results essentially stood up to a billionaire who was then the leader of the most powerful country on Earth. Despite this massive imbalance, they won. Their willpower and courage are an inspiration, a reminder that every one of us has power. Each person who defended Georgia’s election results essentially stood up to a billionaire who was then the leader of the most powerful country on Earth. Our work at Black Voters Matter has been about bringing individuals with power together to not just defend our democracy but to make it better. We put our democratic values at the forefront as we work toward building a future in which everyone can make their voices heard. In Georgia, the people spoke loudly in 2020. And not even Trump could drown them out.
LaTosha Brown
LaTosha Brown is an award-winning organizer, philanthropic consultant, political strategist and jazz singer with over 20 years of experience working in the non-profit and philanthropy sectors on a wide variety of issues related to political empowerment, social justice, economic development, leadership development, wealth creation and civil rights. She is the co-founder of Black Voters Matter Fund (BVM), a Southern based civic engagement organization dedicated to expanding Black voter engagement and increasing progressive power through movement-building and engagement. 
