Georgia Politician Abrams Is A Big Trek Fan
2 min read
During the elections last November, Stacey Abrams narrowly lost the Georgia race for governor, but she has never lost her love for Star Trek.
Abrams came within eighteen thousand votes of forcing a run-off in the election, which made national news, but lost to her rival Brian Kemp.
On February 5 though, she became the first African-American to give the Democratic response to President Trump‘s State of the Union Address.
Abrams turns out to be a Star Trek fan, who has watched every Star Trek series. Her favorite captain is Voyager‘s Captain Janeway. Abrams even referenced Trek in her Lead from the Outside book, which is described as “part memoir, part self-help book.” In that book, while explaining her “approach to politics as a black Democratic woman in a state controlled by white Republican men,” several pages refer to Star Trek: The Next Generation: Peak Performance.
In Peak Performance, Data realized that he couldn’t defeat humanoid grandmaster Kolrami in the game of Strategema, but he could outlast him. Kolrami became angry and quit the game. “Data reframed his objective — not to win outright but to stay alive,” wrote Abrams; “passing up opportunities for immediate victory in favor of a strategy of survival. My lesson is simpler: change the rules of engagement.”
Even though she’s a Janeway fan, Voyager isn’t her favorite Trek series. “I love Voyager and I love Discovery and of course I respect the original, but I revere The Next Generation,” she said.” While she is a fan of Sisko, Deep Space Nine isn’t higher on the list, she told Reddit fans, because “I love Captain Sisko, but the ‘trek’ in Star Trek is why I am drawn to the show.”
Abrams appeared for an interview with the New York Times once, rather tired. Why was she so tired? She had stayed up too late binge-watching Star Trek: Discovery.
Like many Trek fans, Abrams was excited when she ran into a Star Trek actor. After boarding an airplane, she realized that Nichelle Nichols was on board. “I had a fan girl moment and introduced myself,” she said. “Usually I do not indulge in that. But it was Nichelle Nichols. I had to do it!”
About The Author
