Kinston/Jones Free Press (kfp)
As she led by a mere nine votes in the city council race almost four years ago, Kristal Suggs had no idea she would soon help make history in the City of Kinston.
Suggs not only became the third Black woman to be named a Kinston City Council member, she joined Felicia Solomon, Sammy Aiken, Joe Tyson, and Robbie Swinson, creating Kinston’s first all-Black city council on December 4, 2017.
“It honestly did not occur to me that the makeup of the council would be all Black until well after the election,” Suggs said. “While I’m proud of the historical significance we’ve brought to our community, we are simply representatives that should be categorized by the decisions we make not the color of our skin.”