Speech at the 30th Anniversary March on Washington – Aug. 28, 1993

Abrams gave this speech at the 30th Anniversary March on Washington in 1993, when she was 19 years old.

Jobs. Justice. Peace. This is a theme that we've been hearing today over and over again. This is a theme that came out in 1963 when A. Philip Randolph, a trade unionist, came forth to call for a March on Washington asking for an end to Jim Crow laws, equal access to public education, and civil rights legislation that would change the face of a nation. Today we come before you walking on the road to jobs, the road to peace, the road to justice, paved with the blood, the sweat, the tears of labor movement people from around the nation. And today I come to you as a young person, as a young woman, as a young Black woman to ask you to use us – use the young people of the United States of America to pave a road that will last forever. Pave a road that will let us become the foot soldiers. Let us not have to do this again for our children. We ask you to let us come forth with you, not behind you, not in front of you but together on that road to jobs, justice, and peace.

NowThis Impact. “Stacey Abrams Made This Famous Speech 26 Years Before the State of the Union Response.” YouTube video, 1:15. Feb. 5, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9Fz6GqjMC8