I am a lawyer, former educator and advocate who stands up for voting rights, strong locally controlled public schools, good jobs and voting rights for our community.
I served as Harris County Department of Education (HCDE) trustee and was the first African American HCDE Board president. I am proud that I expanded small and minority-owned business participation in capital projects by millions of dollars and significantly increased salaries for HeadStart pre-school teachers. I was president of the Houston Lawyers Association and former chair of the African American Lawyers Section of the State Bar of Texas. I am a senior fellow in Leadership Houston and an American Leadership Forum fellow. I advise the Houston Professionals Chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers and am a member of the Houston NAACP and Council 60 of Houston LULAC. I was also 2023 HAABSE Trustee of the Year.
I am a 16-year attorney and 12-year TSU Law professor and am currently a City of Houston attorney, managing millions of contract dollars that help local Houstonians. Previously I taught at the Thurgood Marshall School of Law, was associate director of the Law Library and started Norris & Norris LLP law practice with my wife. I believe that our actions speak volumes about our values. I am a plaintiff in the lawsuit against Governor Abbott and the state of Texas to fight the Republican voter suppression laws. I spoke out about the negative impact of the US Supreme Court removing affirmative action from the college admission process and published a law review article about the harmful impact of gentrification on historically underresourced Houston communities.
I am married with two wonderful children who have attended public schools in HISD and Sheldon ISD. I received a BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Houston, a Master of Library Science from the University of North Texas (summa cum laude) and a JD Law Degree from Texas Southern University (Cum Laude).
Public education is the cornerstone of a thriving democracy, but our communities have been denied strong well-resourced schools for too long. When elected, I will fight for fully funded, schools with elected school boards and the repeal of the state takeover law. I will stand up against the anti-education Republicans who want to dismantle our public schools.
I am committed to supporting the necessary infrastructure to ensure that our community is not prone to flooding, power outages, and other things that diminish our ability to live peacefully in our community. I also believe that communities that have a history of being harmed by environmental hazards should be compensated to rectify such injuries.
I support a living wage for all Texans, expanded union apprenticeships, and economic opportunity programs that prioritize good jobs for people in our communities. By championing workers' rights and access to meaningful college and career training for everyone, especially for under-served families, we can ensure that economic prosperity is shared by everyone.
I believe each eligible voter should be allowed to vote in the least restrictive manner possible, and will vote against laws meant to deter people from voting. I will continue my fight for voting rights inside the legislature, as I have as a plaintiff in my personal capacity.
I’m committed to ensuring that Texas provides affordable and accessible healthcare to our children, our seniors, and our hard-working families. Texas has the highest number of uninsured in the nation and HD 142 is plagued with harmful cancer clusters, unsafe water, and food deserts. I will fight for increased access to quality healthcare so that no one is forced to choose between buying groceries for their family or going to the doctor.
I believe in reasonable gun safety laws, to prevent unnecessary gun violence in our communities, and will support measures like universal background checks and a mandatory state gun registry. I will also support measures to make it more difficult to buy assault-styled weapons
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