Fashion

How Stacey Abrams Is Turning the Tide in Georgia

Whether it’s Biden or Trump in the White House, Abrams has won….

Georgia hasn’t given its 16 electoral votes to a Democratic president since Bill Clinton in 1992. But 28 years later, the reliably red Southern state is poised to go blue, in large part because of the visionary efforts of Stacey Abrams.

The Yale Law School graduate, tax attorney, and former Georgia state representative became a rising star when she ran for governor of her home state in 2018, but she also lost that election under a cloud of racially-motivated voter suppression to Brian Kemp. According to an Associated Press investigation on the eve of the election, Kemp, then Georgia’s secretary of state, mass-canceled more than a million voter registrations between 2012 and 2018, and, in the run-up to the tight gubernatorial race, froze an estimated 53,000 registrations, a majority of them belonging to African-American voters.

When Abrams lost by just 55,000 votes, she told Vogue: “I sat shiva for 10 days. Then I started plotting.”

Abrams had long rejected the oversimplification of her state as solely populated by white conservatives. She’d advocated to turn out and protect the vote in Georgia for years: In 2013, as a member of the state legislature, she created a voter-registration nonprofit called the New Georgia Project, which completed 86,000 new voter applications. But after her 2018 loss, she doubled down and became one of the country’s preeminent voting rights activists, launching the nonprofit Fair Fight to combat voter suppression. Riding the wave of support—celebrity, even—she won during the governor’s race (Oprah and John Legend campaigned for her), Abrams traversed the state, hoping to replicate the electoral feats she achieved in her own bid, in which she tripled Latino, Asian-American, and Pacific Islander voter turnout and doubled youth participation in Georgia. As Vogue noted in its profile of Abrams last year: “She inspired 1.2 million Black Democrats in Georgia to vote for her (more than the total number of Democratic gubernatorial voters in 2014)” and “gained the highest percentage of the state’s white Democratic voters in a generation.”

“We didn’t fail,” Abrams told one consortium of voters. “In the state of Georgia, we transformed our electorate.”

That work continued, to triumphant effect, into 2020. Building on the efforts of New Georgia Project and others, Abrams and Fair Fight registered a staggering estimated 800,000 new voters since 2018 and helped squash suppressive policies like “exact match,” which had required registrations to precisely match voters’ licenses down to the hyphen, or else risk being tossed out. Abrams told NPR on November 2: “45 percent of those new voters are under the age of 30. 49 percent are people of color. And all 800,000 came on the rolls after November ’18, which means these are voters who weren’t eligible to vote for me but are eligible to participate in this upcoming election.”

They all represent an x-factor as the gap between Biden and Trump narrows and Georgia could flip from red to blue, representing part of the path to a Joe Biden victory. In no uncertain terms, if Georgia clinches Biden the presidency, he has Abrams (who had been a reported VP contender) to thank. The Twitterati is already buzzing with suggestions that Abrams should be awarded with a powerful intra-party post. “If she wants it, Stacey Abrams should be the next DNC Chair,” organizer Rachel R. Rodriguez said.

Others noted that Abrams’s story is political Shakespeare for the way she turned her personal electoral loss into a larger victory; the former candidate who personally encountered racially driven voter suppression rising up to make sure that, next time, people of color could vote in historic numbers. “Can Stacey Abrams Save Democracy?” asked the headline of Vogue’s 2019 profile. I think we have our answer.

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Nike Zoom Hyperflight “Safari” Official Images Reveal Bold Print Ahead of Holiday Release

The Nike Zoom Hyperflight is getting a bold new look, with the “Safari” colorway coming soon. We have official photos of the unique design for a closer look. The sneaker sports bright orange accents and a translucent outsold, and is expected to arrive during the holiday season at a retail price of $190.

The new version is inspired by the Safari print that is familiar from the Air Safari. That pattern covers most of the Hyperflight’s soft, molded upper, giving the basketball shoe a unique look compared with some of the model’s other recent colorways. Together, the unusual texture and pattern make the silhouette feel especially suited to the adventurous design.

The primary contrast across the shoe is orange, used in the trim and other details. The bright color pops against the speckled base without being overwhelming. Black is also present in the design, on the glossy support structure around the midfoot and the soft leather collar. The look is topped off with a see-through outsole that adds another visual element to the overall color scheme.

The sneaker will drop with style code IZ2573-010 and is expected in men’s sizing. With a retail price tag of $190, Nike, Foot Locker, and Sheikh are among the expected retailers. As for when you can expect it, it’s likely to be the holiday season, though we don’t have a solid release date.

The “Safari” colorway comes amid a busy period for the Zoom Hyperflight. This year, Nike has revived the model in several colors, bringing a new wave of attention to the silhouette through a series of releases. Another forthcoming option is the vibrant “Green Apple” pair, also scheduled for a holiday season release.

The Hyperflight’s history also provides context for the latest return. Jason Williams wore the model in the early 2000s, linking it to a memorable era for the sneaker. That association also helps explain why new colorways can generate excitement beyond the shoe’s look, especially for those who remember it from its previous run.

The Safari design is a definitive statement that does not change the characteristic shape of the Hyperflight. Instead, it uses the familiar silhouette as a canvas for a pattern that has already become recognizable through another Nike model. The orange accents provide a bright contrast, while the black midfoot structure and collar balance it out.

Now that official images have surfaced, sneaker fans have a clearer idea of what to expect from the holiday release. The $190 price, style code, and expected retail partners have also been identified, but a specific launch date has not been confirmed.

For Nike, the “Safari” is another way to bring attention back to the Zoom Hyperflight. One of its more distinctive new looks is this returning model, featuring speckled print, orange trim, black support details, and an icy-looking translucent outsole.

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Lil Yachty Previews Another Nike Air Force 1 Mid, This Time With Blue and Orange Stitching

Lil Yachty has added another eye-catching design to his ever-growing collection of Nike US Force 1 Mids, this time going for a cleaner white look accented by blue and orange stitching. The rapper’s latest take on the shoe keeps the familiar silhouette. Still, it uses contrasting details to give the shoe its own identity, something the artist is known for, showing off a steady run of variations on the silhouette.

Dubbed the “White Contrast Stitch,” the pair features white leather across most of the upper. Rather than altering the classic Air Force 1 Mid profile or incorporating a strange material, the design uses stitching to separate the design visually. Blue stitching embellishes the leather panels, and each side of the shoe’s Swoosh is lined with orange.

The combo adds a subtle but noticeable splash of color to the mostly white sneaker. It’s a more muted take than some of the more adventurous pairs Yachty has shown recently, so this version feels like the more no-nonsense option in his growing collection.

The new design adds to the long list of Air Force 1 Mid looks associated with the rapper this year. Earlier previews have featured a stars-and-stripes pair, an orange version with black stars, and a yellow colorway tied to ComplexCon. Each has put a different spin on the familiar silhouette, helping make Yachty’s run of designs a continuing talking point among sneaker watchers.

Earlier this year, another pair of the shoes, this time with blue and red detailing and thick white stitching, was also teased. That version is expected to launch around the holidays, but the details provided don’t confirm whether it will launch alongside the recently unveiled white one.

Some questions remain unanswered about the “White Contrast Stitch” design. Nike has not confirmed any price, style code, or even whether the sneaker will be released to the public. The design has drawn attention through its online appearance and Yachty’s preview, but neither sets a launch date nor guarantees consumers can buy it.

That anticipation makes the latest reveal more of a first look than a proper release announcement. The white leather upper and blue-and-orange stitching are on display, but key retail details remain unknown. For now, there is no confirmed timeline for when the pair might hit stores, or if it will be offered beyond the preview.

Still, the design adds another variation to a collection that has featured a wide variety of colors and details. The white base makes this one more subtle, while the contrast stitching keeps it from being a straight-up all-white release.

Yachty’s latest preview continues his ongoing relationship with the silhouette, with several other Air Force 1 Mid designs already shown this year. It’s not clear if the “White Contrast Stitch” pair will ever make it to the light of day, but it’s definitely added another distinct look to his growing collection.

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