Dean of NC Dems representing NC’s 12th District. Educator. Artist. Founder & Co-Chair of the Black Maternal Health @BMHCaucus and the Bipartisan @HBCUCaucus.
Charlotte, NC
Joined December 2014
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It’s time to invest in HBCU infrastructure and get the IGNITE HBCU Excellence Act across the finish line.
Even before serving in Congress, I took a leadership role in supporting our Historically Black Colleges and Universities, including helping Arkansas Baptist College improve and expand its campus during my time as a community banker. For more than a decade, I have worked with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to advance these vital institutions through policy, funding, and greater philanthropy.
This week's announcement of a USDA grant for Shorter College marks another important step in that long-standing effort.
Here in Arkansas, this work has produced $100 million in debt relief for the four HBCUs in central Arkansas, along with a significant increase in private philanthropy benefiting these campuses.
As Co-Chairs of the Bipartisan Congressional HBCU Caucus, Congresswoman @RepAdams and I are committed to enacting the IGNITE Act during the lame-duck session. The bill would create new competitive grant programs and encourage private philanthropy to strengthen technology on HBCU campuses.
@ShorterCollege @uapbinfo @ArkBaptist @PhilanderSmith
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On Monday, I introduced the Faith-Based Affordable Housing Predevelopment Fund Act, a bill to help expand the affordable housing supply by addressing a critical early-stage financing gap preventing faith-based organizations from developing housing on land they already own.
This month, I introduced the Forensic Assertive Community Treatment (FACT) Pilot Program Act to close crucial mental health care gaps in the criminal justice system.
Education that includes DEI teaches doctors about implicit racial bias and culturally competent care, and expands their knowledge of the patient populations they will be serving. But most importantly, it saves lives.
Many BOP facilities lack basic climate control, leaving people in cells where temperatures reach deadly levels during record heat waves and winter freezes. The Extreme Temperatures Injustice in Prisons Act would establish the first comprehensive federal standards for this crisis.
The House just passed a second War Powers Resolution to end hostilities with Iran.
The war is unpopular and unconstitutional. It needs to end before it gets worse.
Today, I stood alongside my colleagues, Rep. Lois Frankel, Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández, Melanie Campbell, and Melvina Ford, in support of the Black Women’s Equal Pay Day Resolution, marking July 21 as Black Women's Equal Pay Day.
Together, we spoke on the need to close the persistent wage gap Black women continue to face.
At a time when the cost of living remains a concern for many families, Black women still earn just 65 cents for every dollar earned by white, non-Hispanic men.
My statement on the Massie Amendment to the National Security Department of State, & Related Programs Appropriations Bill
Today is the 4th anniversary of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the first federal gun violence prevention legislation to become law in over 30 years.
We must keep building on this foundation to keep communities like North Carolina's 12th District safe.
Gun violence is the leading cause of death of American children and teens.
As Gun Violence Prevention Month comes to an end, please remember to help keep our community safe by securely storing firearms. Safer storage can save lives.
I voted for the Iran War Powers Resolution.
For over 90 days, the Trump administration has waged war on Iran without a defined exit strategy or congressional authorization, dragging our country further into Trump’s self-declared war of choice and a deepening financial crisis.
I am working in the Education and Workforce Committee to ensure we prioritize students and educators over the interests of AI companies. democrats-edworkforce.house.…
I am proud to announce Morgan Wade, a sophomore at West Charlotte High School, as the winner of the 2026 Congressional Art Competition representing North Carolina’s 12th Congressional District.
Requiring proof of intent to discriminate in states with documented histories of racial voter suppression is not legal interpretation. It is judicial activism and willful blindness.
