CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — February is Black History Month and in Texas, African Americans have produced stories of struggle, resolve and triumph. But in our part of the state, part of the struggle seems to be in finding black candidates who are both willing and able to run for elected office.
Look at the websites for both the Republican and Democratic parties of Nueces County and you will see pictures of people hoping to get your vote in the upcoming primary election.
You will also see that African American candidates are missing.
Rene Saenz is the chair of the Nueces County Democratic Party and says some of it may have to do with the numbers, pointing out that in Nueces County, less than 5% of the population is African American. Still, he understands that it is an issue for both parties, and one that requires a proactive solution.
“We’ve got to find ways to recruit in both partisan and non-partisan races,” says Saenz. “I don’t think that we can just say that because they represent under 5% of the population that there is not talent out there, because there is. You’ve just got to find them.”
Back in 2020, there was some hope with the formation of an organization called Corpus Christi African American Voices. One of its leaders was Pastor Adam Carrington, who told 3News at the time that the group was necessary because of a lack of black representation at both the city and county level.
He passed away one year ago, and that group is no longer active.
Corpus Christi ISD board member Alice Upshaw Hawkins is someone who knows what it means to take on the challenge of elected office as a black person in Corpus Christi. She is also the President of the League of Women Voters.
Hawkins says that while it is certainly not an issue of education in our community, it may be a case of simple economics keeping would-be candidates of any race from hitting the trail.
“We have people that are qualified to run, who have the education and the drive, but they don’t have the flexibility of sacrificing a day off the job,” says Hawkins. “Thery don’t necessarily always have a job where their bosses will allow them time to go and do public service.”
She also recognizes that because of the small percentage in our area, any African American candidate will have to work harder to appeal to more than just the people in their demographic.
“If you are not in a place where you have support from all different factions of the community, then I don’t know that you will be successful in winning a race,” says Hawkins.
She tells 3News that despite these and other obstacles that may make African Americans in Corpus Christi hesitant about running for local elected office, the need is still there. As it turns out, her second 4-year-term with CC-ISD comes to an end in November, and she says that she plans to run again.