Candidate name: Shirley J. McKellar
State: Texas
Bio: Shirley J. McKellar became involved in politics when she was 18 years old. She ran unsuccessfully to represent Texas’s 1st Congressional District in 2012, 2014 and 2016 and is currently president of the East Texas Coalition of Black Democrats. “As a black woman growing up during the civil rights movement I faced many adversities, all of which I overcame,” McKellar wrote on her
campaign website.
In 1992 McKellar joined the military, where she served in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom; she retired after 18 years of active duty after being wounded on duty. It was then, McKellar said, that she witnessed the appalling treatment of service members in VA hospitals, which sparked her passion for political office. McKellar attended Texas Women’s University, where she earned an undergraduate degree in nursing and chemistry. She received a master’s degree from the University of Texas and a Ph.D. in nursing management from Columbus State University. She is the founder and CEO of McKellar-McKellar-Ntaka and Associates Inc.
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TOPICS: #TheChisholmList Black women politics Black women vote midterm elections 2018 Shirley J. McKellar
