By The Associated Press
HOUSTON (AP) — “Black Girl Magic” has met the bench with the swearing-in of 17 African-American female judges in the Houston area.
The 17 women all won races in last year’s election to be judges in various Harris County courts.
This photo provided by the Harris County Democratic Party shows a group of 17 African-American women whom are part of an effort dubbed the “Black Girl Magic” campaign. In the photo are the 17 women who won election and were sworn in on Tuesday, January 1, 2019, along with two others who are currently judges in Harris County but lost bids in the November election 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. (Christin Mcqueen/Harris County Democratic Party via AP)
Their “Black Girl Magic ” campaign debuted over the summer with a viral photo that featured the 17 women and two other sitting Harris County judges inside a courtroom.
The women were sworn in on Tuesday.
Those behind the campaign say it was part of an effort to broaden the diversity of the Houston area’s judiciary and ensure that more African-Americans and other minorities can bring their backgrounds and life experiences to the bench and better reflect the diversity of the nation’s fourth-largest city.