In 2000, the shapewear product landed on Oprah’s “favorite things” list and it was off to the races from there.

In 1998, Blakely cut the feet off her pantyhose, and the idea for SPANX was born, according to the company’s website. Sara Blakely’s rise from selling fax machines door-to-door to billionaire businesswoman is well documented. “At the core of it, I believe in service, I believe in Georgia and this is a job that I think I’m ready and more than capable of doing and now is the time,” Abrams told WABE’s Rose Scott. In late 2021, Abrams announced she would once again run against Brian Kemp for the role of Georgia governor. “But with each generation, we have revisited our fundamental truths, and where we falter, we make amends.” America has stumbled time and again on its quest towards justice and equality,” she said. “In this time of division and crisis, we must come together and stand for, and with, one another. In that speech, she used her personal story to refute the president’s policies, particularly when related to health care and immigration. She’s been advocating for voting rights and perhaps most notably, delivered the Democratic rebuttal to President Donald Trump’s 2019 State of the Union Address. Since the 2018 election, Abrams has remained active on the political scene. She is also the founder of the New Georgia Project, a nonpartisan organization working to engage and register Georgia voters of color. “The state where Martin marched on ballot boxes and challenged a nation’s conscience, a Georgia that gave us the Godfather of Soul, the Queen of the Met, and sent a peanut farmer to the Oval Office.”īefore her high-profile gubernatorial bid - which brought the likes of former President Barack Obama and Oprah to the state - Abrams was the Georgia house minority leader.Ībrams is a lawyer and holds degrees from Spelman College, the LBJ School of Public Affairs and Yale Law School. “We must remember that we’re in the state where the red clay gives life to generations of dreamers,” Abrams said the night she won her primary race. Don’t see someone on this list who you think ought to be? Let us know here.

In honor of Women’s History Month, get to know more about these influential women with Atlanta ties: from politicians to health care professionals, writers, activists, entertainers, teachers and beyond.Īnd, we want to hear from you.

From the front lines of the Civil Rights Movement to the skies of World War II, from the local food scene to international corporations, from City Hall to national politics - women from Atlanta have been breaking ground for generations.

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