On February 1, Stacey Abrams sat down and had a conversation with the co-presidents of Spelman Fair Fight U, Gabrielle Gregory (C’26) and Mozn Shora (C’25). Stacey Abrams is a Spelman Alumna (C’91), American politician, voting rights advocate, author, former Georgia State Representative, and former Georgia gubernatorial candidate. During convocation with Fair Fight U, Ms. Abrams gave insight into her journey at Spelman and beyond the gates. Abrams recalled her first time visiting Spelman when her father had a notable conversation with “Sister Prez” Johnetta B. Cole. Dr. Cole told him that rather than viewing Spelman as a protective haven, he should know that he was “sending her here to be educated and to be a stronger woman.” And it was that conversation that sold Abrams on coming to Spelman. It was empowering to hear how Abrams grew during her time as a student at Spelman, and she left the students at convocation with gems to take home.

The ongoing war in Sudan is the result of several long-standing tribal disputes throughout the country and its tumultuous history. This conflict did not start abruptly; for decades, Sudan has been one of the world’s most politically unstable countries, trapped in a never-ending cycle of tyranny and coup d'états. Civil and domestic wars have afflicted Sudan for forty of its sixty-eight years of independence. The current war in Sudan is between the Sudanese Army (SAF), led by General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by General Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dgalo. Unfortunately, neither of these leaders are concerned with the loss of infrastructure, progress, history, and lives; instead valuing gaining power by any measure, exploiting Sudan’s resources for foreign countries’ gain.