Houston NAACP, other leaders say lawsuits against Black female judicial candidates are 'unjust and unfair'
HOUSTON - The head of Houston's NAACP is standing with several Black female judicial candidates who feel they're being targeted and unfairly challenged.
Several Black women, who are running for judicial seats in Harris County, have been taken to court in an effort to have them removed from the ballot and a number of area leaders gathered at the Houston NAACP on Thursday afternoon calling it unjust.
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"Attorney Lillian Alexander has been challenged on the ballot twice, TaKasha Francis as well. Amber Boyd-Cora was challenged all the way to the Supreme Court. I was challenged all the way to the Supreme Court," explains Federal Judge Erica Hughes.
"When the Supreme Court denied that mandamus, that was a win. That was a win for the people that put me on the ballot and that was also a win. Our election process works," says Boyd-Cora.
Everyone from state representatives to Houston's NAACP President Bishop James Dixon are standing with the 13 Black Judicial candidates who believe they're being targeted, not because they're ineligible to run, but because they're Black and female.
"It's offensive to me. So Democratic Party, I'm challenging you to stop just asking people to vote for you and support Black women. I think it's really interesting that they're not going after other people as democrats," adds Rep. Jolanda Jones.
"Someone said to me, they hate this has become a racial matter, and I want to say justice is not racial. Justice is about what's right and what's wrong," said Dixon.
"Not just African American women, Caucasian women, Hispanic women, Vietnamese women, people in general that are trying to change a system that some are so used to it being a certain way. When you come into dark places with light, people don't like that," says 338th District Judge Ramona Franklin.
"We're talking about Black women who have been practicing for more than a decade and the question continues to be raised about whether or not we're qualified, and I don't see similar questions for non-Black women," adds judicial candidate Brandi J. Croffie.
"I've been practicing over 24 years. I currently teach appellate litigation here at Thurgood Marshall School of Law. We're told we start at the same starting line as everyone else, but then there are so many obstacles that we're required to overcome," says judicial candidate Brendetta Anthony Scott.
"Diversity is so important. It's our superpower, but it's going to require change and there's a certain population that doesn't like the idea of change," adds judicial candidate Ysidra Kyles.
The Chair of the Harris County Democratic Party says in every election there are challenges filed by and against candidates of all backgrounds, and he says this election cycle is no different.
"I've been practicing 30 plus years. I'm a 30-plus year veteran trial attorney. I've never seen this many challenges to Black females," says judicial candidate Velda Renita Faulkner.
The leaders and the women say they are standing together to stop what they call a false narrative that can easily get out of control.
"There's going to be other elections. We need to make sure this isn't repeated," says Boyd-Cora.