Black Girl Magic In Houston’s Judiciary

By Rhodesia Muhammad -Contributing Writer- | Last updated: Nov 26, 2018 - 12:20:14 PM

'This Is A Sisterhood For Life'

This photo shows a group of 17 Black women whom were part of an effort dubbed the “Black Girl Magic” campaign. It was the largest number of African-American women on any ballot in the history of Harris County, where Houston is located. In the photo are the 17 women who won election and two others who are currently judges in Harris County but lost bids on Nov. 6 to win seats on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Front row, leaning against the podium from left, are Maria Jackson and Ramona Franklin. Back row, from left, are Lucia Bates, Erica Hughes, Sandra Peake, Cassandra Holleman, Germaine Tanner, Ronnisha Bowman, Linda Marie Dunson, Angela Graves-Harrington, Dedra Davis, Shannon Baldwin, Latosha Lewis Payne, Tonya Jones, Sharon Burney, Michelle Moore, Lori Chambers Gray, Toria Finch and LaShawn Williams. Maria Jackson and Ramona Franklin in front row are the two women who are currently judges but lost bids to win seats on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.

HOUSTON—“It was no coincidence. It was divine intervention,” said Angela Graves-Harrington, judge-elect of the 246th Family District Court in Harris County, Texas. She was referring about the Black women dubbed the “Houston 19,” who ran for various judicial seats in the 2018 mid-term elections.

“I just think it was time for reformation,” she continued. “We did not all come together and decide as 19 African American women to put our names on the ballot. Many of us had never met before, but it felt surreal to walk into a room and see all these women of color. I knew this is where the Lord meant for us to be at this time.”

After banding together and sprinkling their “Black girl magic” on the Democratic campaign trail, 17 of the 19 candidates won their seats on the bench. Two of the candidates were already judges but lost their bids for seats on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. However, they retained their local judgeships.

Their November 6 victory ousted all but one Republican from the bench and swept 59 Democrats onto the bench. Harris County is the third largest county in the country, but women of color make up less than 20 percent of state judges. Sandra Peake, Germaine Tanner, Angela Graves-Harrington, Cassandra Hollemon, Tonya Jones, Dedra Davis, LaShawn A. Williams, Latosha Lewis Payne, Linda M. Dunson, Toria J. Finch, Erica Hughes, Lucia G. Bates, Ronnisha Bowman, Michelle Moore, Sharon Burney, Shannon Baldwin and Lori Chambers Gray were all elected. Judge Ramona Franklin, Judge Maria Jackson didn’t win but are still judges.

Many of the “Houston 19” agree that their victory was largely due to the residents of Harris County wanting a change.

“People were sick and tired of the system and what they perceive as injustices and what are injustices. People have been looking for a solution for years and they felt if we’re really going to get this thing straight, then let’s try our African American women,” said Cassandra Hollemon, judge-elect for Harris County Criminal Court at Law No. 12.

She said she understands why some people voted for Black women. We’re running households, raising children, working, we have organizational skillsets, we’re smart and strong, but we have empathy, she explained.

Lori Chambers Gray, judge-elect of Harris County Criminal District Court 262, said the fact that Black women are compassionate and desire justice for all resonated with voters.

“Seeing women as compassionate helped because women are concerned about our families. We’re concerned about our husbands and our young men and women. And when you talk about someone who wants to serve in the role of the judge and bring compassion, that was a unifying point”, she said.

Judge-elect Gray said she’s been practicing law for 30 years and has seen a lot of things—a lot of good judges and a lot of judges that sometimes didn’t follow the law. But she recognized they came from a perspective because they did not have the experience of diversity even though they were residing over courts for all people.

“So, I decided it would be a good thing if I could use the experiences that I had gained over the many years trying cases, representing people accused of crimes on a daily basis, and bring fairness and justice to our people,” she said.

“Our young girls and our young women can look at us and see that it is possible,” said Judge- elect Hollemon. “Many of us have had things to go on in our lives that we had to overcome, and we have different backgrounds. Our backgrounds are so diverse, and we’ve experienced losses, we’ve had pitfalls, we’ve had people to tell us no, we’ve experienced it all. “We’ve been single parents, teen mothers, you name it. We’re divorcees, some of us grew up impoverished. We cover the gamut of experiences,” she continued.

“I’m so glad it wasn’t just African Americans that voted for us. It was a lot of people who said I’m sick and tired and I think these women, irrespective of their race are going to be good for this county and are going to be good for the people that come before our courts,” she pointed out.

All of the judge-elects have years of experience in the criminal justice system. The one thing they all have in common is wanting to see criminal justice reform, particularly, bail reform.

Black women who made it to the State primaries for judge in Harris County, Texas.

Bail reform, personal recognizance, bonds, unfortunately hurts Black and Brown people disproportionately. The majority of the population in Harris County jails can’t afford bail, says Judge-elect Erica Hughes for Harris County Criminal Court at Law No. 3, who sees this first hand in misdemeanor court.

“When individuals cannot afford bail, they’re kept in jail at a disproportionate rate than their counterparts,” she explained. “If they put up a $500 bail, maybe their lights are going to be turned off, or their rent won’t get paid, or their car will be repossessed. They’re living from pay check to pay check. So, now there’s a bail set because you had an expired license, or you wrote a hot check. If you’re not a threat to our society, if you are working and have a family, and you’re trying to do better for yourself, bail shouldn’t be the thing that holds you back,” stated Judge-elect Hughes.

Community supervision, be it probation or deferred adjudication is another concern, Judge-elect Hollemon acknowledged.

“This is where we have to do things that are designed for people to succeed and not fail. You got to look at how many hours the person works, or do they work and you have to do things that makes sense and is doable,” she explained.

“How many classes can a person realistically go to and do community service and still work and take care of a family? It’s being mindful that these are human beings—that they have lives, and so how do we hold them accountable but, in a way that they can succeed and not fail and not set them up for failure?” she asked.

“I would like to see the courtroom extended to the community,” said Judge-elect Harrington, “where we implement community service initiatives that will provide mentorship to young minorities to show them what’s possible on the other side of the bench. To introduce them to a network that many of them would never otherwise have. Give them role models.”

Judge-elect Hughes said, on January 1, 2019, she will be sworn in and on January 2 she will be “rocking and rolling in the seat.”

“It’s no longer a transition point, it’s official. A lot of times politicians say this is what they’re going to do, and they don’t do it or it takes them forever to do it. January 2, I literally have the power to go in and release individuals on bail who are not a threat to our society and who’ve done low level offenses. I can do that immediately,” Judge-elect Hughes added.

“Immediately, I can request funds to create a mental illness court. They’re going to hear my voice and they’re going to hear the other judges say that and they’re going to allow that funding. I’m already setting the tone on day one,” she said.

“I had an event that occurred in court where the judge went off on a client and called him a thug and a gangster and in my mind, I thought he had no business being on the bench,” recalled Shannon Baldwin, judge-elect of Harris County Criminal Court at Law No. 4, “but who was I to say that if I wasn’t prepared to run for judge myself? That was the final straw. I felt like I needed to put myself in a position of power, so I could change things. I want to be able to give some hope— for someone to walk in the courtroom and say she looks like me. Her hair looks like mine. She’s not going to look down on me because she is me.”

Judge-elect Toria J. Finch Harris County Criminal Court at Law No. 9 is also ready to hit the ground running to serve Harris County well. She hopes the accomplishments of the group will “inspire others to accept their call to action.”

I have to say that in light of the political climate of our country, it is both an honor and a blessing to be a part of such an historical moment with these wonderfully qualified and amazing women. The Houston 19 is truly a creation by God for such a time as this. I am humbled to stand with them as we stand together and stand united for a more just and perfect union for all to see,” she said.

Many people celebrated the newly elected officials because they feel diversity is now more reflective of the county were they reside. However, not everyone was satisfied with the outcome of the election, expressing that the judge elects only won because anti-Trump views and the political climate led a record number of voters to exercise their straight ticket voting.

Straight ticket voting is the practice of voting for every candidate that a political party has on a general election ballot with one punch. This is the last year Texas will allow voters the option of straight ticket voting, a decision many Republicans feel is too late.

“What straight ticket voting did this time is it increased tremendously by numbers for a midterm election,” charged Judge-elect Baldwin, “and I would like to think that was largely due to the fact that the 19 new faces of justice set out to capitalize what we knew was a phenomenon to energize African American voters. We wanted to give them a reason to come and vote. We wanted them to be proud,” she expressed.

Some residents are “salty” with the results because this was something inconceivable to folks, noted Warren F. Muhammad, attorney at law and former associate judge with the city of Houston municipal courts. All 17 Black women winning means a seat of change at the court house.

“There were a number of very long-standing judges who have never been seriously challenged who are now getting removed from the bench. I’m talking about long standing, White, primarily Republican judges who are being removed and that was never expected,” Mr. Muhammad noted.

“However, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan told us that Allah (God), through His active will, placed Donald Trump as the president of this country in that he would hasten the fall of America,” said Mr. Muhammad. “Many Black people have been upset with Trump and wanting to impeach him and I’ve always tried to view it in the light that Min. Farrakhan taught us to look at it—that this is God’s will being carried out.”

As the “magic” settles, there are 19 Black women eagerly awaiting to show the residents of Harris County something different. They all agreed that without each other, their road to victory would have been much more difficult. They share sentiments like—“we’re like a sorority. We covered each other. We shielded one another from outside obstacles and I wouldn’t have wanted to share this experience with anyone else. This is a sisterhood for life.”

“We heard—these judges aren’t as experienced, and these judges don’t have this type of knowledge or skillset, when in reality, we are some of the most qualified judges to be elected to the bench. Our years of service, our trial experience, and our community service involvement proves that,” concluded Judge- Elect Harrington.

The Final Call