Tag: Georgia House of Representatives

On a November night inside a Decatur event venue, the crowd included politicians and hopeful candidates—but that evening, the stage belonged to a group of people who’d never planned to be political at all. In between sets of acoustic music about “making good trouble” and “finding our better angels,” supporters listened as former CDC workers—some wearing masquerade-style masks to protect their identities—shared their stories of finding a deep sense of purpose in their work at CDC, only to be abruptly fired en masse in April. After years of working in suicide prevention, tribal health, and other specialties, these workers now found renewed purpose in a field that they’d meticulously avoided in their former roles: politics.

Our primary responsibility is to represent our speaker of the House and our lawmakers with the greatest respect and honor. We make sure anybody that comes in the chamber is badged properly; if you don’t have that on, you can’t come through the door. Any visitors, we keep our eyes on them and make sure they’re in compliance with the rules. When the chaplain of the day is doing the devotional, we lock the doors. Nobody can come in or out, and representatives have to turn off phones and computers.

When I was in high school, my teacher overheard a classmate mention that I’m Palestinian. He pulled me into the hallway to interrogate me to make sure my family and I didn’t have ties to Hamas. There was no reason for him to believe this other than my identity. This kind of discrimination would color my entire life, but as a result, it forced me to see the systemic injustices around us.

A decade after Congress approved the Equal Rights Amendment in 1972 guaranteeing women the same legal protections as men, Georgia remained on the fence.