The race was called on Nov. 3 at 9:24 p.m., which is much earlier than most elections. The atmosphere of the Marriott Marquis located in downtown Atlanta was only a mere sample of the excitement statewide. The event hall could barely hold the guests as the line for access passes extended across the entire lobby floor. Everyone came in some of their best attire, sporting unmistakable blue diamond pins with the words, “Keisha Lance Bottoms for governor.”

Now, Bottoms will become Georgia’s first woman and first Black governor when she takes office in January, making her the first Black woman to serve as governor of any U.S. state.

She described her campaign as reaching every corner of the state, “from the red hills of Georgia to the Blue Ridge Mountains of the Piedmont,” as cameras crowded in to capture the moment.

Joining her onstage were her mother, her children and her husband, Derek Bottoms, whom she met while attending Georgia State University College of Law and married in October 1994.

Supporters who had campaigned alongside Bottoms for 578 days shed tears of joy at her election watch party. Among those near the stage were U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock ‘91, D-Ga., the senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, and the Rev. Jamal Harrison Bryant ‘94, the senior pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church.

Eight Black women, many firsts

In 2025, Black women experienced disproportionate employment losses as the Trump administration implemented federal workforce cuts and rolled back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

The losses disproportionately affected Black women across the country. In 2026, Georgia voters elected eight Black women to statewide office, marking a historic shift in the state’s political leadership. The South had something to say.

Georgia’s eight major statewide executive offices are the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, agriculture commissioner, insurance commissioner, labor commissioner and state school superintendent.

When the newly elected officials take office in January, Black women will hold seven of Georgia’s eight statewide executive offices, a first for the state, with Lt. Gov.-elect Josh McLaurin holding the eighth seat.

Several broke barriers of their own. Tanya Miller will become Georgia’s first elected woman attorney general. Penny Brown Reynolds, a former Fulton County judge, will become the first Black person elected Georgia secretary of state. Keisha Sean Waites, a former Atlanta City Council member, will become Georgia’s first Black woman insurance commissioner. Educator Lydia Powell will become its first Black woman state school superintendent, while Nikki Porcher will become its first Black woman labor commissioner.

Agriculture Commissioner-elect Katherine Juhan-Arnold founded Baby Katie’s Pharm & Kitchen, a nonprofit farm that provides fresh produce and agricultural education to underserved communities. Shelia Edwards, who won the District 5 race, will join Alicia Johnson as one of only two Black women on the Georgia Public Service Commission. Johnson became the first Black woman elected to a statewide partisan office outside the judiciary in Georgia after winning her commission seat in 2025.

“Georgia chose competence,” Brown Reynolds told The 19th. “We were not selected because we were Black women. I believe that we were selected because all of us bring something that Georgia desperately needs.”

Andra Gillespie, a political science professor at Emory University, told USA Today that the number of Black women elected to leadership positions in Georgia is unprecedented.

“Black women have definitely reached a point where they can not only run and be taken seriously for leadership positions in major parties,” she said.

The wins reached Congress too. State Rep. Jasmine Clark, D-Ga, became the first Black woman with a doctorate in science elected to Congress, winning Georgia’s 13th Congressional District seat, while U.S. Reps. Lucy McBath and Nikema Williams won reelection.

“Georgia has shown up”

Warnock said Georgia voters showed the power of organizing this election cycle and pledged to keep fighting for historically Black colleges and universities.

“I’m proud of Georgia. Georgia has shown up,” Warnock said. “Some 3 million of them early voted.”

He said churches played a key role in that turnout.

“What we saw, among other things, in this election cycle is the power of organizing, and the faith community has always been an important part of that,” he said.

When asked about the legislative priorities he plans to pursue with Keisha Lance Bottoms, Warnock highlighted his efforts to secure federal funding for historically Black colleges and universities.

Warnock pointed to a recent $97.1 million federal award supporting STEM programs at 10 historically Black colleges and universities and other minority-serving institutions, including Clark Atlanta University. His office has also reported securing more than $17 billion for HBCUs nationwide since he began his full Senate term.

With Governor-Elect Bottoms being an HBCU graduate of Florida A&M University, Georgia will have two HBCU alumni representing the people of the state.

“My own life is a testament to how these schools perform way above their weight,” he said. “And so I’ll continue to fight for them.”

His advice for current students was simple: “Morehouse gave me everything I needed to get ready,” he said. “I want the students to look at someone like me, and many others in various fields, and know that we sat in those same desks that they sit in. And so the sky is the limit.”

“Money doesn’t make you a success; character does”

Bryant said the win was personal, crediting Black men and Black churches for helping elect Bottoms.

“Super excited to know history was made, and to know that Black men supported a Black woman to get to this place,” he said.

The biggest hurdle, Bryant said, was getting Black churches involved and engaged, which he described as a return to the church’s tradition from the civil rights movement.

His advice for young men at Morehouse and across Georgia was direct.

“The takeaway lesson for all of us is money doesn’t make you a success,” Bryant said. “Character does.”

When the officials-elect take office in January, Black women will lead nearly every corner of Georgia’s executive branch. Bottoms announced her transition team Friday, Nov. 6. She and the seven other statewide officials-elect will be sworn in in January.

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Based on reporting by Morehouse College – The Maroon Tiger.

The race was called on Nov. 3 at 9:24 p.m., which is much earlier than most elections. The atmosphere of the Marriott Marquis located in downtown Atlanta was only a mere sample of the excitement statewide. The event hall could barely hold the guests as the line for access passes extended across the entire lobby floor. Everyone came in some of their best attire, sporting unmistakable blue diamond pins with the words, “Keisha Lance Bottoms for governor.”

Now, Bottoms will become Georgia’s first woman and first Black governor when she takes office in January, making her the first Black woman to serve as governor of any U.S. state.

She described her campaign as reaching every corner of the state, “from the red hills of Georgia to the Blue Ridge Mountains of the Piedmont,” as cameras crowded in to capture the moment.

Joining her onstage were her mother, her children and her husband, Derek Bottoms, whom she met while attending Georgia State University College of Law and married in October 1994.

Supporters who had campaigned alongside Bottoms for 578 days shed tears of joy at her election watch party. Among those near the stage were U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock ‘91, D-Ga., the senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, and the Rev. Jamal Harrison Bryant ‘94, the senior pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church.

Eight Black women, many firsts

In 2025, Black women experienced disproportionate employment losses as the Trump administration implemented federal workforce cuts and rolled back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

The losses disproportionately affected Black women across the country. In 2026, Georgia voters elected eight Black women to statewide office, marking a historic shift in the state’s political leadership. The South had something to say.

Georgia’s eight major statewide executive offices are the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, agriculture commissioner, insurance commissioner, labor commissioner and state school superintendent.

When the newly elected officials take office in January, Black women will hold seven of Georgia’s eight statewide executive offices, a first for the state, with Lt. Gov.-elect Josh McLaurin holding the eighth seat.

Several broke barriers of their own. Tanya Miller will become Georgia’s first elected woman attorney general. Penny Brown Reynolds, a former Fulton County judge, will become the first Black person elected Georgia secretary of state. Keisha Sean Waites, a former Atlanta City Council member, will become Georgia’s first Black woman insurance commissioner. Educator Lydia Powell will become its first Black woman state school superintendent, while Nikki Porcher will become its first Black woman labor commissioner.

Agriculture Commissioner-elect Katherine Juhan-Arnold founded Baby Katie’s Pharm & Kitchen, a nonprofit farm that provides fresh produce and agricultural education to underserved communities. Shelia Edwards, who won the District 5 race, will join Alicia Johnson as one of only two Black women on the Georgia Public Service Commission. Johnson became the first Black woman elected to a statewide partisan office outside the judiciary in Georgia after winning her commission seat in 2025.

“Georgia chose competence,” Brown Reynolds told The 19th. “We were not selected because we were Black women. I believe that we were selected because all of us bring something that Georgia desperately needs.”

Andra Gillespie, a political science professor at Emory University, told USA Today that the number of Black women elected to leadership positions in Georgia is unprecedented.

“Black women have definitely reached a point where they can not only run and be taken seriously for leadership positions in major parties,” she said.

The wins reached Congress too. State Rep. Jasmine Clark, D-Ga, became the first Black woman with a doctorate in science elected to Congress, winning Georgia’s 13th Congressional District seat, while U.S. Reps. Lucy McBath and Nikema Williams won reelection.

“Georgia has shown up”

Warnock said Georgia voters showed the power of organizing this election cycle and pledged to keep fighting for historically Black colleges and universities.

“I’m proud of Georgia. Georgia has shown up,” Warnock said. “Some 3 million of them early voted.”

He said churches played a key role in that turnout.

“What we saw, among other things, in this election cycle is the power of organizing, and the faith community has always been an important part of that,” he said.

When asked about the legislative priorities he plans to pursue with Keisha Lance Bottoms, Warnock highlighted his efforts to secure federal funding for historically Black colleges and universities.

Warnock pointed to a recent $97.1 million federal award supporting STEM programs at 10 historically Black colleges and universities and other minority-serving institutions, including Clark Atlanta University. His office has also reported securing more than $17 billion for HBCUs nationwide since he began his full Senate term.

With Governor-Elect Bottoms being an HBCU graduate of Florida A&M University, Georgia will have two HBCU alumni representing the people of the state.

“My own life is a testament to how these schools perform way above their weight,” he said. “And so I’ll continue to fight for them.”

His advice for current students was simple: “Morehouse gave me everything I needed to get ready,” he said. “I want the students to look at someone like me, and many others in various fields, and know that we sat in those same desks that they sit in. And so the sky is the limit.”

“Money doesn’t make you a success; character does”

Bryant said the win was personal, crediting Black men and Black churches for helping elect Bottoms.

“Super excited to know history was made, and to know that Black men supported a Black woman to get to this place,” he said.

The biggest hurdle, Bryant said, was getting Black churches involved and engaged, which he described as a return to the church’s tradition from the civil rights movement.

His advice for young men at Morehouse and across Georgia was direct.

“The takeaway lesson for all of us is money doesn’t make you a success,” Bryant said. “Character does.”

When the officials-elect take office in January, Black women will lead nearly every corner of Georgia’s executive branch. Bottoms announced her transition team Friday, Nov. 6. She and the seven other statewide officials-elect will be sworn in in January.

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Based on reporting by Morehouse College – The Maroon Tiger.

Every day, Americans put about 50 million health questions to Microsoft’s Copilot and Bing. More than eight in 10 physicians say they already use AI in their work and believe that proof of safety for these tools is essential. According to a new NAACP report, the emerging technology has quietly become part of how healthcare gets delivered in this country. But the nation’s largest civil rights organization is warning that Black communities may be at risk of being left behind or even harmed by it.

The NAACP and the pharmaceutical company Sanofi released “AI Fluency is a Challenge on Both Sides of the Exam Room” during the AfroTech Conference 2026 in Houston. It is the third installment of the groups’ ACE Your Health StoryMap series, an interactive, data-driven look at how AI, internet access and long-standing healthcare inequities are shaping the future of health in Black America.

The report warns that new technology does not instantly erase old gaps on its own.

“Too many Black communities continue to face healthcare deserts, provider shortages, clinic closures, inadequate internet access, and concerns about racial bias,” said Dr. Chris T. Pernell, Director of the NAACP Center for Health Equity. “If these gaps remain unaddressed, AI could inadvertently widen existing healthcare disparities instead of helping close them. Equity and fairness must be intentionally designed into the future of healthcare AI from the very beginning, not as patchwork fixes.”

The numbers show why. Nineteen percent of people who use AI for health information say they turned to it because they could not afford to see a provider, according to the report. Black adults are significantly more likely than White adults to use AI for mental health advice.

Meanwhile, the report finds, the health system many Black Americans rely on remains hard to reach. One in three Americans lives in a healthcare desert. In the Mississippi Delta, all 154,000 Black residents live more than 25 miles from a hospital rated four or five stars. About 3.8 million Black Americans live in homes without a broadband subscription, which limits their access to digital health tools and AI-enabled resources. Safety-net providers are likewise concerned about having access to these tools due to limited funding and training in their systems.

Trust may be the toughest barrier, says the NAACP. Nearly two-thirds of Black adults believe racial bias remains a major problem in healthcare, the report found, and one-third expect AI to make that bias worse.

The findings draw on the ACE Your Health initiative, national datasets and input from nearly 23,000 community members across 47 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The initiative launched in 2024 as a collaboration between the NAACP and Sanofi, which describes itself as an R&D driven, AI-powered biopharma company. The StoryMap follows the NAACP’s AI White Paper on designing AI for health equity and its Policy Framework for Equitable Health AI.

“Scientific innovation is transforming healthcare in ways that were unimaginable just a few years ago, but innovation must be matched by intentional efforts to expand access, build trust, and address barriers that prevent communities from fully benefiting from these advances,” said Tanisha M. Sullivan, Head of External Engagement & Health Equity Strategy at Sanofi.

She added that pharmaceutical companies should do more than develop breakthrough medicines and technologies. “Pharmaceutical companies have an important role to play, not only in developing breakthrough medicines and technologies, but also in partnering with community organizations, healthcare providers, and policymakers to ensure those innovations reach the people who need them most, ensuring no community gets left behind.”

The report also lays out steps communities can take, including expanding broadband adoption, building AI fluency and digital skills, strengthening community-based health education and advocating for equitable technology policies. It also invites community members to add their voices to the StoryMap.

The full report and other ACE Your Health resources are available at naacp.org.

By Dr. Tonja L. Ringgold and Noah M.P. Harris

On Nov. 14, hundreds of undergraduate women gathering at Morgan State University in Baltimore for Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority’s Undergraduate Leadership Institute will do more than listen to presentations. They will run the program. Graduate advisers will take seats in the back of the room.

This is intentional. Too many institutions invite young people to observe leadership without trusting them to exercise it. We believe the future of leadership depends not on one generation stepping aside for another, but on generations sharing responsibility now.

We have seen the difference from two vantage points.

For Dr. Ringgold, Morgan State is where that journey began. Initiated into Alpha Kappa Alpha’s Alpha Delta Chapter in 1982, she recently reunited with two sorority sisters who guided her as an undergraduate, including a former chapter president whose example still informs her leadership today. Forty-four years later, she returns as director of the sorority’s North Atlantic Region, keenly aware of what it means when someone invests in a young woman’s potential. The homecoming carries added significance: Alpha Delta, chartered in 1926, is celebrating its centennial; and the chapter that shaped her is still helping shape new leaders.

For Ms. Harris, leadership is not a distant destination. She is a Bowie State University senior and president of its Eta Chapter who, this summer, was elected Alpha Kappa Alpha’s International Second Vice President. As an undergraduate member of the sorority’s international governing board, she carries student perspectives into decisions affecting the organization. A 2025 Leadership Fellows experience encouraged her to seek that larger platform. To her, leadership is measured by the people she can serve, not simply the position she holds.

Our experiences challenge a familiar assumption: Young people must wait their turn. Founded in 1908 by Black college women, Alpha Kappa Alpha now counts more than 390,000 initiated members across more than 1,122 chapters. That reach brings a responsibility to open doors, not merely preserve tradition.

Deloitte’s 2026 global survey found that 76% of Gen Z respondents were interested in pursuing senior leadership roles eventually, although only 6% of surveyed Gen Z and millennials named leadership their primary career goal. Many cited burnout, excessive responsibility and work-life balance as concerns. Young people are not necessarily avoiding leadership. They are questioning the conditions under which it is exercised.

At a time when companies are pulling back on women’s advancement, Black women face persistent barriers. McKinsey and LeanIn.Org’s 2025 report found that among companies studied, only 60 Black women were promoted to manager for every 100 men. Telling young women to wait their turn cannot fix an unequal pathway to leadership.

Experience matters. Seasoned leaders carry institutional memory, hard-won judgment and relationships that take years to build. But experience cannot develop in a waiting room. Young leaders need meaningful assignments, honest guidance and room to make mistakes. Experienced leaders must also be prepared to reconsider familiar ways of doing things.

We see that exchange in our own relationship. Ms. Harris draws on Dr. Ringgold’s decades of sorority service and higher education experience. Dr. Ringgold listens when Ms. Harris speaks, recognizing that younger perspectives can challenge assumptions and reveal better approaches. Neither of us has all the answers. Both of us have something to contribute.

Our upcoming Undergraduate Leadership Institute will put that principle into practice. Undergraduate members will lead, with graduate members offering guidance and expertise. We’re taking the same approach in planning our 96th North Atlantic Regional Conference, scheduled for March 2027, where undergraduate counterparts will work alongside graduate vice chairs in operations, programming, social activities and logistics. They’ll help plan an event serving the entire region, not just their undergraduate peers.

That is the distinction between inclusion and influence. A seat at the table means little if the people invited cannot help determine what happens there.

Businesses, colleges, nonprofits and civic organizations can do the same. Pair mentorship with meaningful assignments. Involve emerging leaders in decisions before those decisions are final. Give them resources and room to grow. When they challenge a familiar practice, ask whether it still serves its purpose.

We should not ask experienced leaders to disappear or young leaders to wait. The goal isn’t to pass the torch and walk away. It’s to expand the circle of people empowered to lead and build stronger institutions together.

Dr. Tonja L. Ringgold is the North Atlantic Regional Director of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. Noah M.P. Harris, a senior at Bowie State University, is the sorority’s International Second Vice President and president of its Eta Chapter.

By Will Brown

A Black woman from the heart of Moncrief earned the support of more than 3 million Floridians this election season.

Angie Nixon did not become the first Jacksonville resident to serve in the U.S. Senate since 1936.

At least not yet.

The 42-year-old organizer, small business owner, politician and mother says she will challenge Senator-elect Ashley Moody in 2028.

“I’m disappointed in the outcome, but I’m ready to get back to work – everyone is – because we’re going to make sure that Ashley Moody is held accountable for making sure that people have access to quality healthcare, a roof over their head, food on the table, and trying to lower these costs,” Nixon said on Tuesday night. “So, I’m OK. I’m not happy with the outcome, but I’m ready to get to work.”

That fact that Nixon came so close can only be attributed to the scores of Black women who supported her campaign.

Some were on staff, others volunteered, tens of thousands more voted for the former state representative who has used her bullhorn to bulldoze through staid situations in Tallahassee.

A Black woman has never won statewide office in Florida. Nixon’s 50-48 loss to Moody means it still hasn’t happened.

Not many politicians would walk onto a stage after losing a statewide race playing Bonecrusher’s “Never Scared”.

Nixon faced racist attacks from an advisor to President Donald Trump. Nazi rhetoric was used on Fox News to describe Nixon’s supporters. Yet, they traversed the state – from Marathon to Marianna; from Sarasota to South Florida – connecting with voters.

The forlorn, yet hopeful faces of so many Black women in the audience said more than their words could muster. Some were pastors, others were elected officials. One, Sandra Thompson, attended the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963.

Thompson spent Election Day providing information to voters outside the Legends Center in Sherwood.

“It’s a very important election,” Thompson said. “We are electing our new leaders: the governor, a senator, and the House of Representatives. We need to get it right.”

If Thompson’s presence at Nixon’s campaign party was any indicator, people did not get it right.

Despite the chance to send a Jacksonville native to the U.S. Senate, hundreds of thousands of Duval County voters did not cast a ballot this year.

Preliminary data from the Duval County Supervisor of Elections shows only 55 percent of eligible voters participated this year.

Felicia Demps was not going to miss this election season. She brought five of her grandchildren with her inside the polling booth.

“They came home, and their teacher said, ‘We need to vote.’ I said, ‘Well, let’s go!”

Demps says she is a reliable Democrat who supported lowering property taxes, supported the 1-mil tax extension for Duval County Public Schools, and cares about community.

“Everyone needs to get together. Everyone wants the streets fixed until it’s time to vote,” Demps said. “The most important thing is: we want these things; but we won’t get out and vote.”

This year’s turnout is better than 2022, when Gov. Ron DeSantis won re-election for fun. But it’s lower than the 63 percent of Duval voters who turned out – many of whom hoped Andrew Gillum would become Florida’s first Black governor.

Black women were at the heart of the local effort to inform and motivate voters.

Cortina Floyd spent three hours waving signs along Moncrief Road ahead of the Northwest Classic football game between Raines and Ribault. Floyd and her Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. sisters were among the nearly 50 people who sported Black Greek-letter organizations and informed voters last week.

“As a Black educator, I feel it’s important for me to do my civic duty,” Floyd said.

Exit polling indicates Black women in Jacksonville, in Florida and beyond, did their civic duty.

Afterward, girls of all ages danced on stage after the Associated Press called Florida’s Senate race in Moody’s favor. As they danced, they were unencumbered by the burdens and expectations that are placed on the bodies, minds, and souls of Black girls.

The organizer who lives on the Northside, in a household with multiple union members, says it was not her dream to run for the U.S. Senate. But the woman who openly invoked Shirley Chisholm and Fannie Lou Hamer on the campaign trail committed to doing what she could to help the next generation of girls.

“It’s not necessarily a dream personally. I just want to help people,” Nixon said on Tuesday night. “I wanted to make sure that we’re improving their lives. But the young people that came up to me tonight, they’re excited. They’re ready to continue to do the work and ready to, actually, build a better vision for their future. I’m all hands on deck with them, helping them grow as leaders and helping register more voters so that we can actually win.”

A week of events at UNC Asheville, Mars Hill University, and downtown Asheville.

In 1961, two young women broke the color barrier to become the first African American students at two Western North Carolina colleges: Etta Mae Whitner Patterson at UNC Asheville and Oralene Anderson Graves Simmons at Mars Hill University (then Mars Hill College).

Both women were students at Asheville’s Stephens-Lee High School, where they were members of the Asheville Student Committee on Racial Equality (ASCORE). Through nonviolent protest, ASCORE led efforts to desegregate many Asheville stores and businesses.

Patterson and Simmons, who later founded the Martin Luther King Jr. Association of Asheville and Buncombe County, have since received honorary doctorates from their alma maters in recognition of their achievements and lifelong service to their communities.

To commemorate ASCORE, honor the leadership of Etta Patterson and Oralene Simmons, and mark the 65th anniversary of the desegregation of UNC Asheville and Mars Hill University, UNC Asheville’s Department of History and Mars Hill University’s Liston B. Ramsey Center for Appalachian Studies invite the public to attend “Stories of ASCORE: Lessons in Courage, Desegregation, and Community Activism.”

The program will feature two panel discussions with Drs. Patterson and Simmons, along with other former members of ASCORE. Panelists will discuss how their experiences integrating Asheville’s businesses and institutions prepared them for their college careers, professional lives, and continued community activism.

The first panel discussion will take place at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, in the Blue Ridge Room of Highsmith Union at UNC Asheville. The event will feature a presentation by Dr. Patterson and a panel discussion with Dr. Simmons, Marvin Chambers, Jesse Ray, and Al Whitesides. The panel will be moderated by Deborah Miles, retired director of the former UNC Asheville Center for Diversity Education.

This event is sponsored by UNC Asheville’s Department of History and Africana Studies Program, with generous support from King and Pam Prather. A free visitor parking permit is required for the UNC Asheville event. Please visit the university’s parking website for instructions on obtaining a permit for the evening’s program.

The second panel discussion will take place at 5 p.m. on Thursday, November 12, 2026, in the Tony and Terry Floyd Conference Center in the Mars Hill University Campus Center. The event will feature Dr. Simmons, Annette Coleman, and Elizabeth Colton. The panel will be moderated by Jonathan McCoy, professor of history at Mars Hill University.

This event is sponsored by the Liston B. Ramsey Center for Appalachian Studies, with generous support from the university’s Provost’s Office.

In addition, at 12 noon on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, in Pack Square in downtown Asheville, Mayor Esther Manheimer and the Buncombe County Commission Chair will proclaim ASCORE Day and present honors to Etta Patterson and Oralene Simmons. Holly Jones of the North Carolina Governor’s Office will also participate in the ceremony.

For more information, contact Leila Weinstein at Mars Hill University ([email protected]) or Ellen Holmes Pearson at UNC Asheville ([email protected]).

Based on reporting by The Urban News.