ATLANTA — As Georgia waits for the judge’s decision on whether to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from the Georgia 2020 election RICO case, the focus has shifted from election interference to a misconduct hearing over the prosecution.
Willis has taken center stage in a hearing over whether she should be disqualified from the election interference RICO case, which includes high-profile names like former President Donald Trump.
Through a cultural lens, it's clear that the biggest case in Willis' career is being overshadowed, according to community influencers. It is also igniting race-related conversations stemming from her testimony.
In an unexpected move, Willis took the stand to testify on her behalf and to share details about her personal relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade.
Conversations and headlines shifted from the misconduct hearing to Willis' demeanor on the witness stand. Reports called her "defiant," "angry," "confident," and said the district attorney "ain't nothing to play with."
It was clear where Willis stood.
“I’m not on trial. You’re confused. These people are on trial," she said during her testimony, ready to defend her name.
The pursuit to disqualify Willis has sparked a bigger conversation about race, cultural norms and gender. Stemming from the line of questions, the tone of how she was addressed leaves many chiming in on what Black women face in leadership roles.
"Where do you get your audacity from? How dare you?" Atlanta radio host Mz. Shyneka said about how Willis was questioned on the witness stand.
She said that watching a Black woman defend herself brought to light the frustrations of most Black women.
"They were trying to create this narrative about her, and they wanted to see her fold. They wanted to see her be this angry Black woman in the seat," the radio host said. "And they kept bringing it - and it was very disrespectful."
James Woodall, social justice organizer and former president of the Georgia chapter of the NAACP said what was televised evoked different emotions.
"What I have also seen was the ways in which Black women have had to respond to legacies of racism, legacies of bigotry, legacies of sexism," Woodall said. "And it, in some ways, hurts them.”
Longtime Atlanta media personality Frank Ski agreed.
"She had the right to be mad. I would be mad as hell," Ski said. "They're playing a game. They're trying to make that into the circus."
He said the questions about Willis keeping large sums of cash were not really about cash.
"White people understand cash. White people have had cash all their life," he said. "They don't expect Black people to have that much cash."
Woodall expressed that what some felt were surprising details in her testimony were cultural norms to others and, in some ways, a way to deflect from the real issue at hand.
"These are conversations we have as a community every single day," he explained. "This (Willis' testimony) was a political theater trying to obfuscate the reality of a former president who is on trial, and it's unacceptable."
When Willis testified, safety concerns led her to leave her home and stay elsewhere. Mz. Shyneka said that should have been a bigger headline.
RELATED: Fulton County DA Fani Willis fires back at misconduct claims that threaten future of Trump case
"Where is her protection? She’s not being protected because you guys are trying to pull her apart," she said.
Woodall asked people to dig deeper and take notice of the cultural nuance as the case plays out.
"When we say protect Black women, that's exactly what it should be," he said. "The question now becomes protected from whom?"
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee could decide as early as Friday on whether Willis can continue to prosecute the election RICO case.
If she is removed, the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council of Georgia will select a prosecutor to take over the case. The prosecutor could continue the racketeering prosecution, pursue only some of the charges, or drop the case entirely.