ATLANTA, May 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- A coalition of Black
business owners and community leaders held a press conference today
to demand that corporate leaders, particularly Atlanta-based companies take the time to
understand the diversity of opinions within the Black community
before taking sides on political matters.
The group called out the misleading rhetoric of far-left
activist Stacey Abrams regarding the
Georgia Election Integrity Act, reminding corporate America that
the failed gubernatorial candidate does not speak for the interests
or the opinions of all Black people.
"Stacey Abrams doesn't speak for
the Black community; she speaks for the White liberals who bankroll
her political ambitions," said Raynard
Jackson, founder and chairman of the Black Americans for a
Better Future Education Fund, which co-hosted the event with the
Georgia Black Republican Council. "Stacey
Abrams doesn't actually care about making it easier for
Black people to vote; she only cares about making it easier for
Democrats to vote."
The press conference participants said Abrams has deliberately
misled people about numerous provisions of the Election Integrity
Act – such as voter ID requirements, electioneering restrictions,
and early voting rules – to fit her preconceived talking point that
the law is "Jim Crow in a suit and
tie." That rhetoric, they said, provoked a knee-jerk reaction by
the CEOs of companies such as Delta and Coke, which wrongly assumed
that Abrams was speaking on behalf of all Black people.
"Black people aren't stupid, but Stacey
Abrams treats us like we are when she suggests that we
aren't even capable of obtaining a photo ID," said Dr. Lisa Babbage of the Georgia Black Republican
Council. "Frankly, it's insulting that corporate leaders were so
willing to go along with her narrative of Black helplessness, and
it's patronizing that they thought they were advancing the interest
of Black voters by opposing this common-sense effort to ensure free
and fair elections for all Georgians."
Speakers at the press conference also pointed out that the
rhetoric by Stacey Abrams and
President Joe Biden directly
influenced the MLB's decision to move the 2021 All-Star Game out of
Atlanta. The business owners, all
of whom lost critical revenues at a time when they are trying to
recover from the COVID-19 lockdowns, urged Atlanta residents and visitors to make a
deliberate point to patronize locally owned small businesses, which
are projected to lose out on at least $100
million in revenue due to the MLB's decision.
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SOURCE Black Americans for a Better Future Education Fund