Our Time Is Now

Stacey Abrams is an author, serial entrepreneur, nonprofit CEO and political leader. After eleven years in the Georgia House of Representatives, seven as Minority Leader, Abrams became the 2018 Democratic nominee for Governor of Georgia, where she won more votes than any other Democrat in the state¿s history. She has founded multiple organizations devoted to voting rights, training and hiring young people of color, and tackling social issues at both the state and national levels; and she is a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Abrams is the 2012 recipient of the John F. Kennedy New Frontier Award and the first black woman to become the gubernatorial nominee for a major party in the United States.

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 WashingtonA 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

Introduction: Who Is Stealing Americäs Future? Real Access to the Right to Vote Isn¿t a Guarantee¿And That¿s a Problem Who We Are Matters: Identity Politics and the Census Defeating Populism and Winning Elections to Save DemocracyChapter 1: Everything Old Is New Again Deny and Delay: The Fight for Voting Rights Never Ended Suppression Starts with Who Belongs Here A Moment¿s Grace: Reconstruction to a False Redemption A Dim Light Grows: The Rise and Fall of the Voting Rights ActChapter 2: A License to Be Heard (Voter Registration) No New Voices No Transparency Is the Point You¿re Outta Here: Excessive Voter PurgesChapter 3: Getting Beyond the Gates (Access to the Ballot) The False Seduction of Voter ID There¿s No Voting at a Closed Poll When Voting Isn¿t Easy, It Can Be ImpossibleChapter 4: When the Numbers Lie (Ballot Counting) Signatures, Rejections, Curing, Oh My!: Absentee Ballots How a Safety Net Became a Trap: Provisional Ballots Broken Infrastructure: Malfunctioning Machines, Hours- Long Lines, and Other BarriersChapter 5: taking Our Power Back Staying in the Rigged Game How We Begin Fixing the System for GoodChapter 6: We Can See You and So Should they Class Warfare Begins More Than the Sum of Our Parts Why Who We Are MattersChapter 7: How the Census Shapes America The Significance of the United States Census The Census Could Save Us Collateral Damage: Gerrymandering End the Electoral CollegeChapter 8: the Playbook Reject the Myth of the Magical Voter Putting Our Money and Information Where Our Votes Are Run as You AreChapter 9: Populism and the Death of Democracy Taking Power from the People The Rise of Authoritarian Populism as Democracy¿s Enemy Getting Our Credibility BackChapter 10: the Next Best Version of AmericaAfterwordAuthor¿s NoteNotesAcknowledgmentsIndexAbout the Author