Rep. Ilhan Omar said on Sunday that he supported boycotts in Georgia over the state’s new voting laws – which violated activist Stacey Abrams on the issue.
Omar (D-Minn.), CNN’s ‘State of the Union’, was asked if she agreed with Major League Baseball’s decision to withdraw its All-Star Game from Atlanta in protest of the law.
“We know that boycotts have done the right thing in many areas. The civil rights movement was rooted in boycotts. We know that apartheid ended in South Africa as a result of boycotts, ‘said the Minnesota Progressive Congress.
‘Our hope, therefore, is that this boycott will bring about legal changes in the law, because we understand that if you limit people’s voting power, you will create a democracy that does not fully function for all of us, and if we continue to to be the beacon of hope for all democracies around the world, we must remain our man, ”she continued.
Abrams, the state’s failed Democratic gubernatorial candidate in 2018, made her case against a boycott in a report published by USA Today on Wednesday, after weeks of public outrage, including by Hollywood and numerous businesses.
‘[B]oycotts are complex matters that require a long-term commitment to action. I have no doubt that colored voters, especially black voters, are willing to endure the hardships of boycotts. But I do not think it is necessary – not yet, “she writes in the piece.
The legislation, which was signed by Governor Brian Kemp late last month, revises Peach State election protocols, places new restrictions on voting by mail and increases legislative control over the voting process.
President Biden initially called the bill ‘Jim Crow on steroids’ the day after it was signed, but went even further last Wednesday, saying he would support the MLB’s mid-summer classic in protest.
“I think the professional athletes of today are acting incredibly responsibly,” Biden said in an interview with ESPN. “I would strongly encourage them to do that. People look at them. They are leaders. ”