Stacey Abrams

wore matching suits emblazoned with, quote, Black Drag Queen's Invented Camp and, quote, Fix Your Credit, Pull Money, Buy Back the Block.

Singer Joy Villa arrived in a red, white, and blue gown that read, quote, Trump 2020 in stark white text.

And in every case, the world noticed.

But political resistance in fashion has the capacity to be subtle yet unmistakable.

Beyond slogans and statements throughout history, clothing has been a quiet yet powerful tool of defiance, a way to challenge norms, assert identity, and reclaim power.

We refer to them in The Ten Steps as disrupt and deny.

The suffragettes dressed to reflect the Edwardian feminine ideal, purple for dignity, white for purity, and green for hope.

Those colors became synonymous with their movement.

My boss, former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, the first Black woman to lead a major city, wore a flower every day of her administration, a nod to a constituent and to a promise of a new day.

In the 1970s, the Black Panthers adopted berets as part of their uniform, a symbol of unity and power.

And in 2016, Beyoncé and her backup dancers pay homage to that legacy, wearing black berets during the Super Bowl halftime show.

And then there's the conversation about Bad Bunny.

From dashikis worn at formal events to luxe hijabs and stylized sarongs, fashion connects continents, movements, and meaning.

When I ran for governor in 2018, I faced critique and waves of advice about how to best meet the moment and what I wore to do so.

Some wanted me to play down my curves in favor of boxy suits and somber tones.

Instead, I chose dresses that emphasized both the change of the guards and colors that highlighted rather than dampened my darker skin tones.

People noticed, and for some, my refusal to age myself with hyper-modesty or to hide myself with shapeless garb became a statement all its own.

Understanding the language of fashion is key to understanding our current age, and it can be a translator for those in search of how to navigate the present moment.

One of the 10 steps to freedom and power, fighting back against authoritarianism, is how we present ourselves to the world, how we show which side of history we not only stand on, but how we plan to build it.

MAGA has chosen a label and a color and a regime