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Mom of 17-year-old Black teen shot, killed for loud music gets Dem nod for Georgia House seat

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Lucy McBath (265517)
Lucy McBath

“Times, they are a changin’.” It’s been pointed out by several news sources that more women, and especially women of color, are running for political office than any other time in U.S. history. One of those states particularly drawing attention is Georgia, where Stacey Abrams is the Democratic candidate for governor. If elected, she will become the first Black and the first woman to hold that position in a state that has voted historically Republican. Just last week, former Vice President Joe Biden endorsed Abrams, and she has also received support from a number of political power brokers, including Sen. Kamala Harris (California), Sen. Corey Booker (New Jersey) and Sen. John Lewis (Georgia). And there’s another Black woman making waves in Georgia. Her name is Lucy McBath, and she is the mother of slain teen Jordan Davis. The 17-year-old was shot and killed in Florida by a white man for “playing his music too loud” six years ago. McBath recently won the Democratic House nomination for Georgia’s Congressional Sixth District. Since her son’s murder, she has traveled around the country speaking to lawmakers on saving children from gun violence. McBath said in an interview with CNN that she was inspired to run for office while watching the students who survived the Parkland school shooting earlier this year. “What I began to recognize is that I can keep helping to build this national movement and organize for gun violence prevention,” McBath said. “But you’ve got to have people on the inside that are willing to do the work, creating the bills and initiatives, who will push the issue. You’ve got to have gun-sense champions on the inside. Until I’m able to create real, hard, systemic change, broad change that saves a large number of lives, there’s no justice. We’ve got children dying in the classroom. Where’s the justice in that?” McBath defeated business owner Kevin Abel in the runoff election and will now go against Republican Rep. Karen Handel in November. One of the goals for McBath is to become a supporter in Washington for future student activists. “I’m still a mother. I’m still parenting. That’s why I believed this was the time to stand up.”

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