Gwinnett County Black History 2021. Gwinnett County Black leadership providing new change for the community. Learn about the State of Georgia black leadership Nikki Merritt, Kim Jackson, Gloria Butler, Dar'shun Kendrick, Karen Bennett, Dewey McClain, Donna McLead, Shelly Hutchinson, Jasmine Clark, Nicole Hendrickson, Kirkland Garden, Jasper Watkins, Sheriff Kebo Taylor, Tiffany Porter, Debora Fluker, Tania Whitner, Veronica Cope, Ronda Leary, Solange Destang, Victoria Jones, Craig Newton, Ariene Beckles, Matt Myers, Raphael Wamock, and Hank Johnson.

1. Gwinnett County Black Elected Officials
2021
A New Direction

2. Gwinnett County for the
first time in History is
under
Black Leadership

3. Our State Leadership

4. Senator Nikki Merritt
District 9
Nikki Merritt lives in
Grayson, Georgia.
Merritt's career experience
includes working as a
customer service
representative with AT&T.
Nikki Merritt was elected to become
a member of the Georgia State
Senate, representing the 9th District,
on November 3, 2020.

5. Senator Kim Jackson
District 41
Kimberly S. Jackson is an American
politician and Episcopal priest from the
state of Georgia. Jackson has
represented the 41st district in the
Georgia State Senate since January
2021.

6. Senator Gloria Butler
District 55
Butler was born on December 25, 1941. She
earned her B.A. from Perimeter College in
1984. Her professional experience includes
working as a fiscal accounting assistant for the
Health Sciences Center Library at Emory
University, legislative assistant for United
States Congresswoman McKinney, assistant
to the director for AmeriCorps Team for
National Service, and executive assistant for

7. State Representative Dar’shun Kendrick
District 93
Kendrick was born on August 28, 1982.
She earned her B.S. from Oglethorpe
University and her J.D. from the Georgia
School of Law. Her professional
experience includes owning Kendrick Law
Practice in Lithonia, Georgia, specializing
in business law exclusively.

8. State Representative Karen Bennett
District 94
During her first term in office, Representative Bennett
signed onto several pieces of legislation that positively
impacts the quality of life for all citizens. A few of Bennett’s
actions included co-signing HB 167 “Family Energy Credit
Act”, fighting for seniors to receive tax credits for their
energy bills; legislation to decrease the GPA for technical
students to receive the Hope Grant, opening the door for
more students to attend; she supported HB 698 which
fought for providers to receive competitive reimbursement
for their services under the GA Medicaid Program; and she
fought for Georgians to have Medicaid Expansion so that
thousands of more Georgians would receive healthcare.

9. State Representative Dewey McClain
District 100
Dewey McClain was born in Okmulgee, OK, and he is one of 11
children. He received his B.A. in history from East Central University.
McClain has served as president of the Atlanta North Georgia Labor
Council, and he served the Department of Parks, Recreation and
Cultural Affairs and the Atlanta Workforce Development Agency for
18 years. His work experience includes being an NFL player with the
Atlanta Falcons and being a founding member and president of the
National Football League Player's Association Metro Atlanta Chapter.
In addition to his work experience, McClain has been on the board for
the Board of the NFLPA Gene Upshaw Players Assistance Trust
Fund, the NFLPA National Former Players, the Metro Atlanta United
Way, and the Gwinnett County Parks Foundation. He has received
the MLK Jr. March Committee Rev. James Orange Award, the AFB
Community Service Award, the Gwinnett County Rape Crisis Crystal
Angel Award, and the Georgia Recreation and Park Association
Minority Section Professional of the Year.

10. State Representative Donna McLeod
District 105
Donna McLeod was born on the island of
Jamaica. As of January 2020, she lived in
Lawrenceville, Georgia. She became a
U.S. citizen in 2012. Her career
experience includes working as a
chemical engineer and as the president
of Enviroqual, a quality assurance
consulting firm specializing in medical
devices. She serves as a member on the
Human Relations & Aging committee.

11. State Representative Shelly Hutchinson
District 107
Shelly Hutchinson was born in New Orleans,
Louisiana. As of January 2020, she lived in
Snellville, Georgia. She received her bachelor's
degree in criminal justice from Louisiana State
University and her master's degree in social work
from the University of Georgia. Her career
experience includes working as a social worker.
She has served as the founder of the Social
Empowerment Center, a mental health outreach

12. State Representative Jasmine Clark
District 108
Jasmine Clark was born in Atlanta, Georgia.
As of January 2020, she lived in Lilburn,
Georgia. She received her bachelor's degree
in biological sciences and her master's degree
in microbiology and molecular genetics. Her
career experience includes working as a
scientist and a professor. She has served as
the director for the March for Science and as a
member of the Georgia Alliance for Social

13. Our County Leadership

14. Commission Chair Nicole Hendrickson
Nicole Love Hendrickson was elected chairwoman of the
Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners in 2020, making her
the first African American to hold this position. Prior to her
election, she was the founding director the Gwinnett County
Community Outreach program engaging diverse constituents
in county government. After joining the County in 2015, she
launched several community-based initiatives, including the
Gwinnett 101 Citizens Academy and the Gwinnett Youth
Commission. Before her tenure with the County, Nicole served
as the associate director of the Gwinnett Coalition for Health
and Human Services for eight years.

15. Commissioner Kirkland Carden
District 1
Kirkland Carden, a former Duluth City
Council member, was first elected to the
District 1 seat of the Gwinnett County
Board of Commissioners in 2020. District
1 includes the cities of Duluth, Suwanee,
Sugar Hill, and portions of Norcross. At
age 29, he was elected to the Duluth City
Council, becoming the first millennial and
the first African-American council
member in the city.

16. Commissioner Jasper Watkins, lll
District 3
Jasper Watkins III, a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the
Army, was elected District 3 Commissioner in 2020.
District 3 encompasses Braselton, Auburn, Dacula,
Grayson, Loganville, Snellville, and parts of
Lawrenceville.
Jasper is the principal/consultant for Watty Consulting,
LLC, and senior account executive for the Group
Purchasing Organization, Minnesota Multi-state
Contracting Alliance for Pharmacy Infuse. He served 25
years as an Army pharmacist, five years as chief of the
Bureau for Statewide Pharmaceutical Services for the
Florida Department of Health and two years with the
Atlanta Veterans Administration Medical Center's
pharmacy.

17. Commissioner Marlene M. Fosque
District 4
Marlene M. Fosque was first elected to the Gwinnett
County Board of Commissioners District 4 seat in
November 2018. District 4 covers Lawrenceville, Buford,
and Rest Haven as well as parts of Braselton and Sugar
Hill. She was selected by the board to serve as vice
chair for 2020 and 2021.
Marlene also serves as vice chair on the National
Association of Counties' Transit/Rail subcommittee of
the Transportation steering committee, the Large Urban
Counties Caucus steering committee and the
International Economic Development Task Force. She
sits on ACCG’s Economic Development and
Transportation Policy and General County Government
Policy committees.

18. Our School Board Leadership

19. Vice Chair Karen Watkins
District 1
Karen Watkins is the daughter of immigrants
and her background of blended cultures is
reflective of the changing demographics of
Gwinnett County. She knows that education is
at the core of a thriving community. She wants
to provide accountability for how tax-dollars
are spent to constituents. Her mission is that
students receive a quality education, safe
schools, and feel cared for and supported by
their community.

20. School Board Chair Everton Blair, Jr
District 5
Blair, 28, two years ago became the Gwinnett School
Board first Black member.
The son of Jamaican immigrants, Blair graduated
from Shiloh High School in Gwinnett before earning
a bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics from
Harvard University and a master’s degree in
leadership from Stanford University. He is national
governance director at New American Leaders, an
organization that prepares immigrants and their
children to run for office.

21. School Board Member Dr. Tarece Johnson
District 5
Tarece Johnson, EdD is a womanist, entrepreneur, diversity and inclusion expert,
poet, artist, author, activist, and advocate. A mother of two, she converted to Reform
Judaism in 2016 and is a member of Temple Sinai in Atlanta. She attended La
Universidad del Sagrado Corazon in Santurce, Puerto Rico, earned her MPA from
Columbia University in New York, her MBA from Emory University and her EdD from
Capella University. As a public figure, Dr. Tarece Johnson aims to make a difference
in her community, nation, and the world through her acts of service, kindness, talents,
and love. As a leader in the Atlanta local NAACP, Alliance for Black Lives, and March
On Georgia, she has worked tirelessly on issues impacting disenfranchised and
marginalized people and communities. She fights passionately against discrimination,
anti-semitism, systemic racism, inequities, oppressions, injustice, ignorance, and
hate. Her multicultural experiences led her to create Global Purpose Academy, an
international nonprofit preschool and afterschool program, and The Global Purpose
Approach. She is also the co-founder of Multicultural Jewish Alliance.

22. Our Court Leadership

23. DA Patsy Austin Gatson
Patsy Austin-Gatson (D) has over 30 years of
experience as an attorney, most recently working in
Gwinnett County’s solicitor’s office.
As District Attorney she will:
Disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline by providing
support services for vulnerable students.
Advocate for people that commit first-time nonviolent
offenses to be given a second chance and released
pretrial.
Establish a dedicated unit to review and overturn
wrongful convictions.
Expand accountability courts and
provide rehabilitative resources.

24. Clerk of State/Superior Court Tiana P. Garner
Clerk of Court is an elected position serving
the Superior, State, Magistrate, and Juvenile
courts in Gwinnett County. The Clerk and
Deputy Clerks are custodians over the land and
property records of the county as well as the
civil and criminal files and records in the courts
served. The Clerk's staff includes the Courts
Information Technology Division, which serves
not only the courts named above but also any
users of the court's Odyssey Case Management
System.

25. Solicitor General Brian Whiteside
Whiteside believes his office should be a
proactive "first line of defense" against crime.
The Gwinnett County Solicitor’s Office is
responsible for the prosecution of all
State misdemeanor crimes in the State Court of
Gwinnett County and all County ordinance
violations (including traffic citations) in
theRecorder’s Court of Gwinnett County.

26. Superior Court Judge Deborah R. Fluker
Judge Deborah R. Fluker is a career criminal trial
attorney with over 18 years experience handling all
types of criminal legal matters in Superior Court,
State Court, Juvenile Court, Magistrate Court and
Recorders Court. Judge Deborah R, Fluker presided
as an Associate Judge in the Municipal Court of the
City of Suwanee, earned her B.S. Degree in
Finance and Human Resource Management in 1986
from The University of Virginia. She later earned her
J.D. from Georgia State University College of Law in
1997. Judge Deborah R. Fluker began her legal
career as an Assistant District Attorney where she
served in that capacity for over 10 years in
Gwinnett, DeKalb and Hall Counties in Georgia.
Division 3

27. Superior Court Judge Tania D. Whitner
Division 7
After serving our country as a captain in the U.S.
Air Force and Air National Guard, Tadia Whitner
brought invaluable leadership and legal expertise
to her work as a prosecutor, private attorney, and
judge for municipal and juvenile court.
Whitner earned her bachelor’s and law degrees
from Howard University before serving in the
military. She then prosecuted cases in the U.S.
Virgin Islands and in Florida before working in
Savannah as both a public defender and a staff
attorney for Chatham County Juvenile Court.

28. State Court Judge Veronica Cope
Veronica Cope is an attorney with over 17 years
of experience in civil litigation and criminal
defense. As a civil litigation attorney for 8 years,
she gained a wealth of knowledge and
experience in the areas of commercial litigation,
insurance defense, and plaintiff’s personal
injury. For the last 9 years, her practice has
focused primarily on criminal
defense. Veronica’s diverse practice
background makes her uniquely qualified to
serve as Gwinnett County’s State Court
Judge. Since 2001, Veronica has handled over
500 cases in Gwinnett County courts along with
hundreds of other matters throughout the State

29. State Court Judge Ronda Colvin Leary
Ronda was raised in a small town in rural
Alabama. She is the oldest of 4
children. She comes from a long line of
military servicemen, nurses, law
enforcement, grandparents who fought in the
civil rights movement. Raised from humble
beginning, Ronda was taught core values of
hard work, treating people fairly and strong
Christian values.
For the last seventeen (17) years attorney
Ronda Colvin Leary has fought tirelessly for
her clients in Georgia courtrooms protecting
their rights. For the last eleven (11) years
she has been in a successful private law
practice in Gwinnett County.

30. Sheriff Keybo Taylor
A graduate of Central Gwinnett High School, Keybo has
lived in Lawrenceville for most of his life, alongside Linda,
his wife of 34 years and a graduate of Dacula High School.
Their two children and grandchildren also reside in
Gwinnett County.
Keybo holds a bachelors degree from Mercer University as
well as a Masters Degree in Public Administration from
Columbus State University. Additionally, he has
certifications in Intermediate and Advanced Supervision
and Management from the Georgia Peace Officer Standards
and Training Council, is a Certified Crisis Intervention
Training, and graduated from the DEA Drug Unit Command
Academy.

31. Tax Commissioner Tiffany Porter
Porter became Gwinnett’s first African-
American tax commissioner when she
officially took office on Jan. 1.
Porter comes into the tax commissioner’s job
having previously served as a municipal judge
for the city of Duluth — she was that city’s
first African-American judge — as well as
having been a certified NFL agent, a legal
analyst for CourtTV and a lawyer with
expertise in tax, estate, business and criminal
defense law.

32. Our City Leadership

33. City Council Woman Solange Destang
Born in the Netherlands to a St. Lucian father, and a Surinamese mother, she
settled in the United States over 43 years ago. Solange is currently well-versed
is seven languages which include: Dutch, German, Papiamentu, Spanish,
Portuguese, Surinamese, and English. After moving to Snellville, from Florida in
2006, she has used her knowledge and background as an immigrant to broaden
her perspective into other cultures. She is always doing what she can to
help/bring people together from all social backgrounds and economic statuses.
Solange has been in the field of education for over 20 years. She earned her
Bachelors in Education and earned her Masters Degree in English where she
maintained a 4.0 GPA.
Solange has single handily, crafted and organized, the International Festival at
Berkmar High School for 10 consecutive and successful years until
2018. Currently, she is a teacher at South Gwinnett High School where she is a
Department Chair for English Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and has
brought her inspiration for blending cultures to the high school by organizing
and hosting the first ever International Festival at her current Gwinnett High
school in March of 2019.

34. Lawrenceville City Council Woman Victoria Jones
Victoria Jones proudly holds the Post 2
position on the Lawrenceville City
Council. She was first appointed to the
City Council to fill an unexpired term in
February 2019. She completed the term
and was elected to serve in 2020. In
January 2021, Mrs. Jones was selected
by her fellow City Council Members to
serve as Mayor Pro Tem (vice mayor) of
the City Council. Mrs. Jones has called
Lawrenceville home since 1994 and has
lived inside the city limits since 2013.

35. Norcross Mayor Craig Newton
Newton is the first black mayor of a city in
Gwinnett County.The 2017 municipal election
brought history-making changes to Gwinnett
County in terms of who would lead Norcross.
Mayor Newton served 10 terms on the
Norcross city council before being elected to
his first term as mayor of Newton in 2018. He is
a graduate of Central Georgia Technical
Institute with a degree in metrology. Mayor
Newton ranks the city's economic viability,
sustainability, and master planning for Buford
Highway as his top priorities for his present
term.

36. Norcross City Council Woman Arlene Beckles
Arlene Beckles has been a resident of
Norcross for nine years. Since then, she's
been involved in a number of city
organizations: the Norcross Arts Alliance,
the Norcross Police Department
Foundation, Safe Routes to School and
more.

37. Norcross City Councilman Matt Myers
Matt have a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical
Engineering from Clark Atlanta University and a
Masters in Supply Chain Management from Penn
State University.
Matt was a part of the Norcross Planning &
Zoning Board; Norcross Comprehensive Plan
Steering Committee; Norcross Art Splash, Live
Norcross, Junior Achievement, and March of
Dimes Volunteer.

38. Our United States Leadership

39. US Senator Raphael G. Warnock
Warnock is from Savannah, Ga. He grew up in public
housing as the eleventh of twelve children born to
Verlene and Jonathan Warnock,
both Pentecostal pastors. His father served in the US
Army during World War ll, where he learned automobile
mechanics and welding, and subsequently opened a
small car restoration business where he restored junked
cars for resale.
Warnock came to prominence in Georgia politics as a
leader in the campaign to expand Medicaid in the
state. In March 2014, Warnock led a sit-in at the Georgia
State Capital to press state legislators to accept
the expansion of Medicaid offered by the Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act.

40. US Representative Hank Johnson
Prior to taking his seat in Congress in 2006, Rep.
Johnson practiced criminal defense law in Georgia for
twenty-seven years. He served twelve years as a
magistrate judge, and five years as a county
commissioner.
As a former member of the House Armed Services
Committee, Rep. Johnson became a leading national
voice for the demilitarization of local law enforcement
agencies in 2014 after police donned camouflage
tactical gear and climbed aboard heavily armored
vehicles to confront peaceful protestors in the streets
of Ferguson, Missouri, in the aftermath of the shooting
death of an unarmed teenager. To help restore trust
between law enforcement and the communities they
serve, he filed the Police Accountability Act and the
Grand Jury Reform Act in the wake of police shooting
deaths of unarmed black men across the country.

41. The Family is a 501 C3 business professional networking group that mentors
entrepreneurs and small business for Gwinnett County and metro Atlanta. We help
grow small businesses and startups by helping entrepreneurs with networking tips,
events and workshops. Our mentors include: administrative clerical specialists,
branding marketing specialists, accounting and taxes mentors, and business
attorneys.
The Family provides a way for small business growth by helping a company find
the best networking opportunities in Gwinnett and North Atlanta. Gwinnett’s
business growth is exploding fast with the film, tech and service industries, which
means fast meaningful opportunities to help grow your business.