Black History
COMMENTARY: No War on Poverty — The King Holiday and American Hypocrisy
NNPA NEWSWIRE — “The movement in the 1960s won a Civil Rights Act and a Voting Rights Act, but the Poor People’s Campaign was about building on that power to win economic justice. We won a Fair Housing Act and we got a War on Poverty, but America didn’t win that war,” said Reverend Dr. William Barber, II, leader of a multi-ethnic movement dedicated to Dr. King’s work and legacy.
By Charlene Muhammad
@sischarlene
Across the United States, celebrations of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birth with weeklong tributes, including awards ceremonies, banquets, prayer breakfasts, school pageants, parades, and special church services were planned with the official Dr. King federal holiday.
“The first thing you need to realize, Dr. King was assassinated. Killed, murdered by officials who claimed to be so patriotic within this system,” said Dr. Charles Steele, Jr., president and CEO of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which Dr. King helped found.
SCLC is planning a new Poor People’s Campaign focused on empowerment, education and food for those in poverty. A campaign against poverty and opposition to war were Dr. King’s agenda items before his 1968 murder.
SCLC, a nonprofit, interfaith civil rights organization, was founded in January 1957 by, Rev. Joseph Lowery, Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, Dr. King, Bayard Rustin and Rev. Ralph Abernathy in Atlanta.
Dr. Steele said the drum major for justice’s opposition to the Vietnam War, and Poor People’s Campaign led to his killing.
Dr. King was planning a mass march on Washington, D.C., as part of a campaign created in 1967 for freedom, independence, and self-determination, before he was assassinated by James Earl Ray on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tenn., on April 4, 1968.
Mr. Ray was said to have acted alone, but jurors in a December 1999 civil trial in Memphis, brought by the King family, ruled Dr. King died as a result of a high-level government conspiracy.
“We still are fighting this discrimination and the racism of this country, who is the richest in the world. America has always had wealth, but never cared anything about those who were less fortunate than those who had the wealth,” Dr. Steele said.
“The movement in the 1960s won a Civil Rights Act and a Voting Rights Act, but the Poor People’s Campaign was about building on that power to win economic justice. We won a Fair Housing Act and we got a War on Poverty, but America didn’t win that war,” said Reverend Dr. William Barber, II, leader of a multi-ethnic movement dedicated to Dr. King’s work and legacy.
As president of the Repairers of the Breach, he has relaunched a Poor People’s Campaign as a national call for moral revival.
“We gave up the field. And then reactionary forces attacked the movements and the moral narrative that had made it possible. Today, almost 55 years after the Voting Rights Act was passed, we have fewer voting rights protections than we did then,” he told The Final Call via email.
The forces attacking living wages attack health care, support more military spending but say there is no money to fight climate change, argues Repairers of the Breach. Rev. Barber believes people are hurt by the “interlocking injustices” of poverty, racism, ecological devastation, militarism and religious nationalism.
“If they are cynical enough to stand together, we must be smart enough to come together,” he said. Rev. Barber came to public attention through weekly Moral Monday gatherings that drew crowds to Raleigh, the capitol of North Carolina, calling for compassion and justice.
The current U.S. war footing and tensions with Iran only make matters worse, he and others said.
“We insist that militarism and the war economy are an intersecting injustice with poverty because in any war, the poor suffer first. Poor people in Iran will die if we attack, and poor people from America will be taken away from their families to suffer and die in battle. But poor people suffer twice, because the money our government could use to address needs for education, health care, housing, food security and climate justice will go to defense contractors who profit from war making,” said Rev. Barber.
But even as activists and organizers picked up the King mantle to serve the poor and march for justice, politicians in his birthplace of Atlanta, Ga., gave up over $5 million in federal funding for housing and other services that would have helped vulnerable seniors and low-income residents.
When Fulton County Commissioners voted 4-3 to relinquish status as an Entitlement Community, it meant loss of money for community development, revitalizing neighborhoods, economic development, and better facilities and services. It was a slap in the face to the very communities Dr. King fought and died for, said activists.
“You got a system that is at war with poor people. It is the rich against the poor. It’s nothing in the middle,” said Dr. Steele.
Persistent poverty ignored in the USA
According to PovertyUSA.org, nearly 12 million youngsters, or about 1 in every 6 children live in poverty.
“According to 2018 U.S. Census Data, the highest poverty rate by race is found among Native Americans (25.4 percent), with Blacks (20.8 percent) having the second highest poverty rate, and Hispanics (of any race) having the third highest poverty rate (17.6 percent). Whites had a poverty rate of 10.1 percent, while Asians had a poverty rate at 10.1 percent,” said PovertyUSA.org. The poverty rate for seniors, including higher costs for health care, is about 14.1 percent, said the organization.
“What’s worse, 5.3 percent of the population—or 17.3 million people—live in deep poverty, with incomes below 50 percent of their poverty thresholds. And 29.9 percent of the population—or 93.6 million—live close to poverty, with incomes less than two times that of their poverty thresholds.”
“In 2018, the median income for family households was $80,663, while the median income for nonfamily households was $38,122.
The USDA estimated that 11.1 percent of U.S. households were food insecure in 2018. This means that approximately 14.3 million households had difficulty providing enough food for all their members due to a lack of resources. Rates of food insecurity were substantially higher than the national average for households with incomes near or below the federal poverty line.”
In 2017, Professor Philip Alston, United Nations Special Rapporteur, or investigator, on extreme poverty and human rights completed an extensive two-week fact-finding mission to determine whether persistent extreme poverty in the U.S. undermines or infringes on the basic human rights of Americans. His tour stops included Montgomery, Ala., Charleston, W. Va., Atlanta, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C.
“The United States is one of the world’s richest, most powerful and technologically innovative countries; but neither its wealth nor its power nor its technology is being harnessed to address the situation in which 40 million people continue to live in poverty,” he reported in a presentation to the UN’s Human Rights Council.
“Instead of realizing its founders’ admirable commitments, today’s United States has proved itself to be exceptional in far more problematic ways that are shockingly at odds with its immense wealth and its founding commitment to human rights. As a result, contrasts between private wealth and public squalor abound,” he said.
Work still undone
Dr. Steele is very frustrated looking at conditions in America and the belief by many Blacks that they have made it.
Black people have been set back 50 years by hypocritical actions, like the Supreme Court’s decision to gut the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Key provisions of the law protecting voting rights in states with histories of discrimination were eliminated, said the SCLC leader.
On Jan. 6, a coalition of faith, civic and community leaders led by the Concerned Black Clergy of Atlanta called on Fulton County officials to reverse their position during a press conference at Vicars Community Center in southwest Atlanta. On Jan. 8 senior citizens’ appeals during a council meeting for the same fell on deaf ears. Media reports said officials had trouble tracking how the funding was spent.
But Community Development Block Grants help pay for affordable housing, emergency grants, home investment partnership grants, neighborhood stabilization program funds, affordable housing for the most vulnerable communities, and create jobs through business expansion and retention. Emergency solutions grants pay for street outreach, emergency shelter, rapid rehousing and homelessness prevention. There was talk the county’s decision could be reconsidered Jan. 23.
“The city of Atlanta has failed Dr. King’s dream, but the people at the grassroots level have not given up and keep pressing the agenda of his Poor People’s campaign,” said Reginald Muhammad, a political scientist and professor at Clark Atlanta University.
“Much of Blacks’ political engagement is social symbolic. Many people are about to vote for Bernie Sanders or Joe Biden but those politicians know it’s about photo ops and pats on the backs, but Blacks won’t have any demands when it relates to public policy,” he said.
“We are in an immoral war, right now,” said Reverend Dr. Gerald Durley, pastor emeritus of Providence Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta. “These were immoral decisions … those of us who have a social conscience must stand up as Dr. King said, we must combat this evilness, this inequality, this injustice, and come up with moral decisions for the least, the lost, the left behind,” he added.
“It’s atrocious,” said Abdul Sharrieff Muhammad, who heads the Nation of Islam’s Southern regional headquarters in Atlanta. He was describing housing conditions in Atlanta and throughout the South. “That’s still happening, right now, what Dr. King was fighting for, as we still struggle and try to gain some of that momentum back, and still struggle, and that’s why we must do for self, or suffer the consequences, and that’s what we are doing now, because we did not do for ourselves like we should have, and now we’re suffering the consequences,” said Min. Sharrieff Muhammad, also co-chair of the 10,000 Fearless Headquarters of the South.
The program grew out of the Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan’s call for Blacks to make their communities safe and decent places to live and demand justice through economic withdrawal, or selective buying.
During the run up to the 20th anniversary of the historic 1995 Million Man March, October 10, 2015, Minister Farrakhan called for Blacks to redistribute the pain through an economic boycott of Christmas in the fight for justice. His call wasn’t limited to any faith, or political ideology.
“Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on the night before he was assassinated, was talking so strong,” said Min. Farrakhan. “But after he was assassinated, they reduced him to a ‘dream.’ Every time they mention Dr. King’s name, he is ‘The Dreamer’—but they did not kill our brother because he dreamed.”
“… Dr. King knew death was on him, and he told the people at Mason Temple COGIC in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 3, 1968, in his speech ‘I’ve Been to the Mountaintop:’ ‘We have to redistribute the pain; when we’re in pain, we’ve got to make them feel pain,’ ” said Minister Farrakhan, echoing Dr. King’s words.
Over half a million people go homeless on a single night in the United States, according to the White House Council of Economic Advisors.
“Approximately 65 percent are found in homeless shelters, and the other 35 percent—just under 200,000—are found unsheltered on streets (in places not intended for human habitation, such as sidewalks, parks, cars, or abandoned buildings), according to “The State of Homelessness in America” in 2019.
The report found homelessness concentrated in major cities on the West Coast and the Northeast, with almost half (47 percent) of all unsheltered homeless people in California. That’s about four times as high as California’s share of the overall U.S. population, it added. Rates of sheltered homelessness were highest in Boston, New York City, and Washington, D.C., with New York City alone containing over one-fifth of all sheltered homeless people in the United States.
Like national activists, organizers, and advocates for the poor, “State of Homelessness in America” blamed decades of misguided and faulty government policies.
Advocates also blamed the Trump administration, presidents before him, and some Black politicians they charged with selling out. In December, President Trump announced plans to drop nearly 700,000 Americans from the federal food stamp program. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, as the program is officially called, made work requirements more stringent for those seen as able-bodied adults without dependents. Some 55,000 people were likely to lose benefits in Cook County, Ill., alone. The final rule is effective in April.
That change came on the heels of a decision by the Trump administration, the U.S. Conference of Mayors warned “would escalate food insecurity and hunger for an estimated 3.1 million individuals—including children, seniors, and people with disabilities in our states, regions and cities nationwide. Furthermore, this proposal will put children’s health and development at risk by removing their access to healthy school meals; and harm our economy by reducing the amount of SNAP dollars available to spur regional and local economic activity.”
“USDA has estimated that during times of economic downturn, every additional $5 dollars in SNAP benefits generates up to $9 dollars of economic activity, and every $1 billion increase in SNAP benefits results in 8,900 full-time equivalent jobs,” added the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
(Final Call staff contributed to this report.)
Black History
Don’t Pass the Torch. Expand the Circle.
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. is redefining mentorship by empowering undergraduate women to take active roles in high-level organizational governance. Instead of asking young leaders to wait their turn, the sorority is integrating students like Noah M.P. Harris into international boards and planning committees alongside seasoned veterans like Dr. Tonja L. Ringgold. This intergenerational model aims to combat professional burnout and systemic barriers by offering meaningful responsibility and guidance today, rather than in the distant future, to learn how this approach is transforming leadership. read more.
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.
Black History
Nixon Unbought, Unbossed and Undeterred Following U.S. Senate Defeat – Free Press of Jacksonville
Angie Nixon, who garnered over 3 million votes in her bid for the U.S. Senate, expressed disappointment after losing to Ashley Moody with a narrow margin of 50-48. Despite the defeat, she remains dedicated to holding elected officials accountable on healthcare and community issues and plans to challenge Moody again in 2028. Nixon highlighted the essential role of Black women in her campaign, noting their significant support and efforts to mobilize voters. Despite a lower voter turnout in Duval County compared to previous elections, grassroots efforts by local activists, particularly Black women, were notable. Nixon aims to inspire future generations of leaders and voters, emphasizing the importance of civic engagement.
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.”
Black History
MHU Commemorates ASCORE and Anniversary of Desegregation
THE URBAN NEWS — UNC Asheville and Mars Hill University are collaborating to host a series of commemorative events marking the 65th anniversary of their desegregation. The programming honors Etta Mae Whitner Patterson and Oralene Anderson Graves Simmons, two former members of the Asheville Student Committee on Racial Equality (ASCORE) who became the first Black students at their respective institutions in 1961.
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.
Black History
HBCU Love: Spelman’s Dr. Letitia Plummer Makes History as Harris County’s First Black Elected County Judge
TEXAS METRO NEWS — Former Houston City Council member Dr. Letitia Plummer has made history as the first Black person elected to serve as the Harris County Judge. The Spelman College alumna defeated Republican Orlando Sanchez in the general election for Texas’ most populous county, receiving approximately 62% of the vote.
Letitia Plummer is the next Harris County judge, and the Spelman College alumna made history in Texas’ most populous county. On Tuesday night, the former Houston City Council member defeated Republican Orlando Sanchez. As a result, she becomes the first African American elected to lead Harris County.
Early unofficial results showed Plummer with about 62% of the vote to Sanchez’s 38%. Shortly after 9 p.m., Sanchez called Plummer to concede. He then asked his supporters to back her once she takes office.
The win also makes her the first Muslim elected to the post. According to the Houston Chronicle, that makes her the highest-ranking Muslim executive official in Texas history.
A Historic Night in Houston
Plummer succeeds Lina Hidalgo, who chose not to seek another term. Now, a Spelman woman takes over the top job in a county of nearly 5 million people.
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In Texas, the county judge is not a courtroom role. Instead, the job leads the Commissioners Court, which runs the county’s budget, roads, flood control and public health. So the seat carries real power over daily life in the Houston region.
The general election was never especially close. However, the road to November was brutal. In the March 3 primary, Plummer finished second behind former Houston Mayor Annise Parker. Parker took about 47% to Plummer’s 37%, sending the race to a runoff.
Then Plummer flipped the script. On May 26, she beat Parker in the runoff with about 51% of the vote. From there, she turned to Sanchez and never looked back. Houston Public Media has full coverage of election night.
Letitia Plummer’s Road From Linkwood to Harris County Judge
Plummer grew up in Linkwood, a neighborhood south of Brays Bayou near Buffalo Speedway. Her family history runs deep in Houston. Her grandfather was a Tuskegee Airman flight instructor. After the war, he became the first African American investigator for the Harris County district attorney.
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Her father, Matthew Plummer Jr., studied dentistry at Harvard. Later, he served in the Peace Corps, where he met her mother in Africa. Her mother brought Yemeni and Indian roots to the family. As a result, Plummer grew up in a multicultural household that shaped her outlook.
As a teen, she attended what is now DeBakey High School for Health Professions. Then she headed to Atlanta for Spelman. There, she joined Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
After Spelman, she came home to Texas for dental school at Baylor College of Dentistry. Like her father, she became a dentist. She went on to own dental practices in the Houston area, including in Pearland.
From Dental Chair to City Hall
Plummer’s political career started with a 2018 run for Congress. She made the Democratic runoff in Texas’ 22nd District but lost to Sri Preston Kulkarni. Still, the campaign put her on the map.
A year later, she won Houston City Council At-Large Position 4. She took office in January 2020. In doing so, she became the first Muslim woman elected to the Council.
On the Council, she focused on police reform, food deserts and apartment inspections. She also chaired the Government Operations Committee. Notably, fellow Spelman alumna Carolyn Evans-Shabazz served alongside her on the Council.
In 2025, she launched her campaign for county judge. Then she timed her exit from the Council so the city could fill her seat during a regular election. That move saved Houston the cost of a standalone special election.
What She Ran On
Plummer pitched herself as a unifier for a Commissioners Court that has often split along party lines. She promised to build stronger working relationships among its members.
She also called for better county services and changes to the county’s Flock camera contract. In addition, she pushed back on state leaders for exerting authority over Harris County.
On election night, she spoke about her personal struggles with surrogacy. She said that experience helped inspire her decision to run.
Why Letitia Plummer’s Win Matters for Spelman
Spelman women had a big night across the country Tuesday. In New York, alumna Adrienne Adams won the lieutenant governor’s race. Now Plummer will run one of the largest counties in America.
Together, the wins show how far the Spelman network reaches in politics. Both women built careers outside government before winning office. And both broke barriers on the way up. For more on the school, check out our Spelman College coverage. You can also follow our Keisha Lance Bottoms coverage for more HBCU wins from election night.
What Comes Next
Plummer will take office in January. Between now and then, she will build her team and prepare for the county budget fight. For more on her path, the Houston Chronicle tracked her rise through a political roller coaster year.
Stay with HBCU Buzz for continued coverage of Harris County Judge-elect Letitia Plummer as she prepares to take office.
In this article:HBCU LOVE, Letitia Plummer, Spelman’s Dr. Letitia Plummer Makes History as Harris County’s First Black Elected County Judge
Based on reporting by Texas Metro News.
Black History
Jason Driver Named St. Louis Public Library CEO
ST. LOUIS AMERICAN — The St. Louis Public Library has appointed Jason Driver as its next chief executive officer following a national search. Driver, a veteran administrator with 27 years of experience, currently leads the Kitsap Regional Library in Washington and previously served in several roles at the Chicago Public Library. He is scheduled to take over the 15-location system on January 4, succeeding longtime leader Waller McGuire. The appointment follows a period of notable activity for the system and recent management discussions in Driver’s current role. Read more.
Jason Driver, a veteran library administrator with more than 27 years of experience, has been named the next chief executive officer of the St. Louis Public Library, taking over a 15-location system that serves more than 135,000 active cardholders.
Driver, who has led Kitsap Regional Library in the state of Washington since 2022, will begin his new position Jan. 4, succeeding Waller McGuire, who retired in October after 37 years with the St. Louis library system, including 22 years as its leader.
The appointment follows a national search and comes after the St. Louis system was named Missouri’s 2026 Library of the Year, in part for its response to the devastating May 2025 tornado. The library helped residents during the recovery, including through a tool-lending program established to assist with home repairs.
Driver told Sarah Fenske of St. Louis Magazine that he has no immediate plans to overhaul the system, which he described as a “well-oiled machine.”
“I’m a firm believer in one needing to follow before they can lead,” he said.
He plans to spend time learning from employees and the library board before deciding what changes might be needed.
Driver, a Chicago native, began his career working with young people in foster care through the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. He later joined the Chicago Public Library, where he held positions ranging from children’s librarian and early literacy specialist to branch manager, regional director and district chief.
At Kitsap, Driver has overseen strategic planning, finances, communications and public services for a nine-branch system.
His selection follows several months of workplace controversy there, where union-represented employees questioned his management practices.
The Washington Public Employees Association raised concerns in May about communication, personnel decisions and branch closures. Union members later voted no confidence in Driver and called for his removal, according to reporting by Kitsap News Group.
A three-month independent investigation did not substantiate allegations of unlawful gender discrimination, retaliation or misconduct violating library policies. The Kitsap library board supported Driver’s continued leadership but acknowledged that communication, trust and workplace relationships needed improvement.
The board also said some employee concerns involving labor relations, collective bargaining and working conditions fell outside the investigation’s scope.
Driver told St. Louis Magazine he respected the union’s right to raise concerns and viewed the experience as an opportunity to improve communication.
“I definitely embrace the union to be able to have that pathway to speak out when there are things that they don’t agree with,” he said.
The St. Louis Public Library board independently confirmed the investigation’s findings with Kitsap trustees before hiring Driver, according to the St. Louis Business Journal.
“After a national search, the Board of Directors believes we have found in Jason an outstanding leader with the vision and experience to lead SLPL forward,” board President Nina North-Murphy said in a statement.
Driver will receive an annual salary of $240,000, the Business Journal reported.
Driver said returning to an urban library system was among the attractions of the St. Louis position. His background in social services, he said, helped prepare him to work with people from a wide range of circumstances.
“I felt like the background I had in social services really helped me to deal with some of the things we deal with in urban libraries,” he told Fenske.
He said libraries offer opportunities to serve people who might otherwise face barriers to accessing community resources.
“St. Louis is a wonderful city, it has a strong library core, and it certainly has a number of opportunities to dig in and help advance the mission and help the people of St. Louis,” Driver said.
The post Jason Driver named St. Louis Public Library CEO appeared first on St. Louis American.
Based on reporting by St. Louis American.
Black History
Superb Woman: Destiny B. Sadler
TEXAS METRO NEWS — Destiny B. Sadler is a dynamic entrepreneur and empowerment coach who serves as a Top Executive with the global beauty brand LimeLife by Alcone. A graduate of Southern University, Sadler leverages her background in leadership and community impact to mentor others on the transformative power of confidence.
Destiny B. Sadler is a dynamic entrepreneur, digital creator, and empowerment coach dedicated to helping individuals look, feel, and live at their absolute best. With a background rooted in leadership and community impact, she serves as a Top Executive with the global beauty brand LimeLife by Alcone, where she mentors a growing network of beauty guides and champions the transformative power of confidence.
Driven by a passion for personal development and education, Destiny founded YSTBYOU and You’re Simply the Best Kids, an educational services organization focused on building foundational confidence and leadership skills in youth. She’s a graduate of Lamar High School and Southern University. Destiny’s life work centers on a simple, powerful philosophy: embracing who you are is the ultimate key to success.
Based on reporting by Texas Metro News.
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