House Resolution 53EX
By: Representatives Hugley of the 141st, Park of the 107th, Williams of the 168th, Jackson of
the 68th, Sanchez of the 42nd, and others
A RESOLUTION
Honoring the life and memory of Reverend Robert Lee Abrams; and for other purposes.
WHEREAS, the State of Georgia mourns the loss of a distinguished and superlative husband,
father, minister, activist, and citizen with the passing of Reverend Robert Lee Abrams; and
WHEREAS, Reverend Robert Lee Abrams was born on February 1, 1949, in Hattiesburg,
Mississippi, a child of a segregated South who never accepted that obstacles placed on him
by either chance or law would define his station or his worth; and
WHEREAS, at just 14 years old, Reverend Robert Lee Abrams was arrested for registering
Black voters in Mississippi, only beginning a lifetime of standing up for the civil rights and
dignity of his family, his neighbors, and his countrymen; and
WHEREAS, despite struggling with undiagnosed dyslexia, Reverend Robert Lee Abrams
overcame that challenge, not only graduating high school but becoming the first man in his
family to attend university, where he earned a degree from Tougaloo College; and
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WHEREAS, Reverend Robert Lee Abrams had the good fortune to meet and marry his wife,
Reverend Carolyn Abrams on February 28, 1969, and began a life together in Gulfport,
Mississippi, where they built a joyful home bound in love and service to others; and
WHEREAS, Reverend Robert Lee Abrams and Reverend Carolyn Abrams were blessed to
raise six children – Andrea, Stacey, Leslie, Richard, Walter, and Jeanine – in whom he
instilled the maxim that "having nothing is not an excuse for doing nothing," whom they
raised to place service to others at the forefront of their lives, and of whom he was
immeasurably proud; and
WHEREAS, in 1989, Reverend Robert Lee Abrams, after many years as a shipyard worker
in Mississippi, and Reverend Carolyn Abrams felt the call to serve as the pastor of Mt.
Pleasant UMC and Riley Chapel UMC in Gulfport, Mississippi, and St. Mark UMC in
Atlanta, Georgia, where he ministered to all those most in need of faith in God and the love
of their fellow man, dedicating himself to the homeless, troubled young youth, and the
incarcerated; and
WHEREAS, Reverend Robert Lee Abrams passed on Wednesday, June 17, 2026, surrounded
by his loving wife, children, grandchildren and siblings, who best exemplify and steward his
legacy of faith, courage, service, laughter, and love; and
WHEREAS, in 1 Corinthians 15:58, the Apostle Paul wrote: "Therefore my beloved brothers
and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord because you
know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain"; and
WHEREAS, Reverend Robert Lee Abrams, much as he knew that his faith and his family
would always come for him in his time of need, never failed – whether through his activism
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or his ministry – to come for others in their own, and through his lifelong commitment and
service to the equal rights and dignity of all did not ever labor a day in vain.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES that
the members of this body join in honoring the life and legacy of Reverend Robert Lee
Abrams and express their deepest and most sincere regret at his passing.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the House of Representatives is authorized
and directed to make an appropriate copy of this resolution available for distribution to the
family of Reverend Robert Lee Abrams.
H. R. 53EX