Ossoff: “Young people in Georgia have the power to make history.”
Atlanta, Ga. — This morning, investigative journalist and Georgia Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Jon Ossoff was joined by a crowd of young Black leaders, many of whom are part of the Millennial Civil Rights Project, before voting early in-person at the Metropolitan Library in Atlanta. Ossoff spoke about how critical it is that every eligible voter, especially young voters, gets out to vote in the January 5 runoff election.
Ossoff was introduced by Taos Wynn, President of the Millennial Civil Rights Project, and Julius Thomas, a member of Atlanta civil rights group the People’s Uprising. Wynn emphasized the “urgency of this hour” and of electing “candidates who are speaking to the issues that matter to young people the most in the state of Georgia.”
Thomas spoke to the importance of electing leaders like Ossoff, saying young Georgians will come out in waves to elect “a Senator who thinks about Black lives when making legislation.”
Before voting, Ossoff highlighted the power of young people voting, saying “Young people in Georgia have the power to make history.” Ossoff discussed the critical legislation at stake in the election and the powerful role young people will play in delivering a new Civil Rights Act and a new Voting Rights Act, relieving the burden of student debt, raising the minimum wage, and more.
Ossoff closed his remarks by urging young voters to get everyone they know “out to the polls for health and jobs and justice for the people, for all the people.”
Watch footage of Ossoff’s remarks and him voting here:
Key highlights of the remarks can be found below:
[Wynn]: “We’re here today because of the urgency of this hour today.
“Because we recognize how important it is in this moment for us to have our voices heard, for us to encourage others to have their voices heard as well.
“And how important it is to have candidates like Jon Ossoff in office:
“Candidates who care about our best interest.
“Candidates who are speaking to the issues that matter to young people the most in the state of Georgia.
“And so we’re here to show that the South still has something to say. And we’re gonna keep this blue tide rolling.
“So today, we’re here because student debt is on the line.
“We’re here because criminal justice and social unrest that we saw over the summer is on the line.
“We’re here because our families that are seeking relief, our loved ones in a time of pandemic and COVID-19, we’re here for them.
“We’re here because we’re not waiting for anybody else. We’re here to show up in large numbers to get youth, millennials, and everyone engaged in this hour.”
[Thomas]: “I stand here with all my fellow young people for Black lives in Atlanta because we can’t afford a complacent Congress anymore.
“We cannot afford to have another sloppy stimulus passed by.
“Eight months for $600? We need a Congress and Senators who are really thinking about the lives and the actual reality of the lives that have to go through this pandemic.
“We have to have a Senator that thinks about Black lives when making legislation.
“No longer can we wait for a Senator only to think about the privileged and the wealthy.
“We need a Senator that thinks and considers everyone at heart.
“And lastly, students can’t be forgotten anymore. There should be no reason we should be graduating with a mortgage before we even get a house.
“It’s very important that young people all across the state of Georgia, that people in general, get their minds right and vote for Reverend Raphael Warnock and the future Senator Jon Ossoff.
“I’m proud to know there’s a man running for office who has me in mind, who knows that I’m not going to be another statistic. That I’m a life and I matter.
“That I’m gonna have real reform in the criminal justice system, when something happens.
“So I’m very grateful to be here today. I’m even more grateful to introduce the next Senator of the state of Georgia, Jon Ossoff.
[Ossoff]: “We’re here to urge everybody to get out to the polls and vote, and especially to urge young people to get out the polls and vote. To urge young people out.
“Young people in Georgia have the power to make history.
“There is so much good work that we can do on behalf of the people.”
“We can pass a new Civil Rights Act and a new Voting Rights Act and secure equal justice for all, regardless of race and regardless of class.
“We can end voter suppression and protect the sacred franchise for which so many bled and died.
“We can relieve the burden of student debt. We can ensure that no young person in this state has to take on a penny of debt to get a degree from an HBCU or from a public college.
“We can raise the minimum wage. We can expand job training opportunities so folks who are making $9 or $12 an hour today can get professional qualifications and make $30 or $40 an hour tomorrow.
“There is so much good work that we can do, but young people will make the difference.
“As you all know, these elections will determine control of the U.S. Senate.
“So the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, the new Civil Rights Act that we need, the new Voting Rights Act that we need, young people in Georgia, y’all, will determine whether this legislation can pass.
“Young people in Georgia have the power to make that kind of difference. This is a rare moment in our history, y’all, for young people to have that kind of power.
“So we are here, all of us are here, to urge people out to the polls, to urge you to get everybody you know out to the polls for health and jobs and justice for the people, for all the people.
“So, again the polls are open. Say it with me one more time, say vote!”
[Crowd]: “Vote!”
[Ossoff]: “Say vote!”
[Crowd]: “Vote!”
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