The Tip of The Spear

Wow. Jon Ossoff, Rev. Raphael Warnock, Stacey Abrams, thousands of black women who called and canvassed - they all, in the Times' careful language, have "pretty likely" won the Senate. In what sounded a lot like a victory speech, Warnock cited his "improbable journey," paying tribute to his mother's "82-year-old hands that used to pick somebody else's cotton" and to the legacy of Martin Luther King's home state, which "has long been the tip of the spear for change in America." Please, let it be.

Future face of Georgia/America, hopefully. CNN photo

Wow. Jon Ossoff, the Rev. Raphael Warnock, Stacey Abrams, the legacies of John Lewis and Martin Luther King Jr., the hard work of thousands of black women who called and canvassed and organized - they all, according to the New York Times' painfully careful language, have "pretty likely" won the Senate. In what sounded a lot like a victory speech shortly after midnight, Warnock cited the "historic moment" and the "improbable journey" that got him there, paying tribute to his mother Verlene's "82-year-old hands that used to pick somebody else's cotton." If Warnock wins - an event deemed "very likely" - he will, somewhat astonishingly, become the first Black senator representing Georgia in the state's history, and only the second Black senator from the South since Reconstruction. He and Ossoff will also become what many hope will be standard bearers for a broader Democratic coalition of the future: Ossoff is a young, white, Jewish, documentary filmmaker; Warnock, with a doctorate in philosophy and a down-home humor, is the leader of Atlanta's esteemed Ebenezer Baptist Church, the spiritual home of Martin Luther King, Jr. known as both Black America's Church and America's Freedom Church. As such, a sense of social justice history is strong in him. As the home state of MLK, he's argued, Georgia "has long been the tip of the spear for change in America." Please, let it be.

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further georgia jon ossoff raphael warnock stacey abrams

Future face of Georgia/America, hopefully. CNN photo

Wow. Jon Ossoff, the Rev. Raphael Warnock, Stacey Abrams, the legacies of John Lewis and Martin Luther King Jr., the hard work of thousands of black women who called and canvassed and organized - they all, according to the New York Times' painfully careful language, have "pretty likely" won the Senate. In what sounded a lot like a victory speech shortly after midnight, Warnock cited the "historic moment" and the "improbable journey" that got him there, paying tribute to his mother Verlene's "82-year-old hands that used to pick somebody else's cotton." If Warnock wins - an event deemed "very likely" - he will, somewhat astonishingly, become the first Black senator representing Georgia in the state's history, and only the second Black senator from the South since Reconstruction. He and Ossoff will also become what many hope will be standard bearers for a broader Democratic coalition of the future: Ossoff is a young, white, Jewish, documentary filmmaker; Warnock, with a doctorate in philosophy and a down-home humor, is the leader of Atlanta's esteemed Ebenezer Baptist Church, the spiritual home of Martin Luther King, Jr. known as both Black America's Church and America's Freedom Church. As such, a sense of social justice history is strong in him. As the home state of MLK, he's argued, Georgia "has long been the tip of the spear for change in America." Please, let it be.

Future face of Georgia/America, hopefully. CNN photo

Wow. Jon Ossoff, the Rev. Raphael Warnock, Stacey Abrams, the legacies of John Lewis and Martin Luther King Jr., the hard work of thousands of black women who called and canvassed and organized - they all, according to the New York Times' painfully careful language, have "pretty likely" won the Senate. In what sounded a lot like a victory speech shortly after midnight, Warnock cited the "historic moment" and the "improbable journey" that got him there, paying tribute to his mother Verlene's "82-year-old hands that used to pick somebody else's cotton." If Warnock wins - an event deemed "very likely" - he will, somewhat astonishingly, become the first Black senator representing Georgia in the state's history, and only the second Black senator from the South since Reconstruction. He and Ossoff will also become what many hope will be standard bearers for a broader Democratic coalition of the future: Ossoff is a young, white, Jewish, documentary filmmaker; Warnock, with a doctorate in philosophy and a down-home humor, is the leader of Atlanta's esteemed Ebenezer Baptist Church, the spiritual home of Martin Luther King, Jr. known as both Black America's Church and America's Freedom Church. As such, a sense of social justice history is strong in him. As the home state of MLK, he's argued, Georgia "has long been the tip of the spear for change in America." Please, let it be.

further georgia jon ossoff raphael warnock stacey abrams