60 Time December 2–9, 2019
The hoTel ballroom is packed when The spoken-word poeT
Staceyann Chin takes the stage on a Saturday morning in late October.
At least 1,100 mostly women and nonbinary people of color have filled
the vast space in the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta in anticipation of her per-
formance and of Stacey Abrams’ keynote address, which will come next.
Chin’s first poem is a polemic against President Donald Trump,
which elicits yells of support along with sharp laughs and applause.
But the second performance, called “Tsunami Rising,” is when the
audience explodes. In a monologue describing
how black women have been brutalized, beaten
down and discarded since before the found-
ing of America, Chin expresses both the rage
she feels at being ignored and the adoration she
has for her fellow women of color. “If you are
itching to light a f-cking bonfire in the house
of the white patriarchy, come stand with black
women,” she says.
Many in the room are on now on their feet,
tears streaming down their cheeks. When Abrams,
who lost the Georgia gubernatorial race in 2018
but has since launched voting-rights and census-
participation campaigns, steps up to the podium,
she urges attendees to turn their pain into action.
CHOOSING JUSTI
Groups like SisterSong have fought for decades
for an expansive vision of reproductive health care.
Now they’re getting more attention
By Abigail Abrams
PHOTOGRAPH BY MICHELLE BRUZZESE FOR TIME
