By OSWALD T. BROWN
WASHINGTON, D.C., November 6, 2021 – While the victory by businessman Glenn Youngkin in the November 2 governor’s race in Virginia garnered most of the attention by the national media, equally as newsworthy was the election of Winsome Sears as lieutenant governor, the first black woman elected to a statewide office in Virginia.
Coming as it did slightly less than two weeks after the death of General Colin Powell , who was born in New York to Jamaican parents, Mrs. Sears’ historic political victory in Virginia was yet another reason for Jamaicans to beam with pride, given the fact that Mrs. Sears immigrated to the United States from Kingston when she was six years old.
Of course, General Powell , who was exceptionally proud of his Jamaican heritage, had a distinguished military career, and in addition to being the first African-American Secretary of State, he served as the 16th United States National Security Advisor from 1987 to 1989 and as the 12th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1989 to 1993.
Then there is Kamala Harris, the first Black woman Vice President. Born in Okland, California, Vice President Harris’ late mother, Shyamala Gopalan, who died in 2009, was an Indian immigrant, and her father, Donald J. Harris, is a Jamaican immigrant.
According to Wikipedia, Winsome Sears was born in Kingston, Jamaica, on March 11, 1964 and immigrated to the United States at the age of six.
“Her father arrived with just $1.75 and took any job he could find while also continuing his education,” Wikipedia says, adding that Sears grew up in The Bronx, New York.
Noting that Sears served as an electrician in the United States Marines, Wikipedia adds: “Sears earned an A.A. from Tidewater Community College, a B.A. in English with a minor in economics from Old Dominion University and an M.A. in organizational leadership from Regent University in Virginia Beach, Virginia.”
Noting that before running for public office Sears ran a homeless shelter, Wikipedia adds: “In November 2001, Sears upset 20-year Democratic incumbent William P. “Billy” Robinson, Jr. while running for the 90th District seat in Virginia’s House of Delegates. Sears was the first Jamaican female Republican, first female veteran, and the first naturalized citizen delegate, to serve in the House of Delegates.
“She challenged Democrat Bobby Scott in 2004 for Virginia’s 3rd congressional district seat, but lost, garnering 31 percent of the vote. She was Vice President of the Virginia Board of Education and has received presidential appointments to the Department of Veterans Affairs and the U.S. Census Bureau.
“In September 2018, Sears entered the race for U.S. Senate as a write-in alternative to Republican candidate Corey Stewart. She received less than 1% of the vote. On May 11, 2021, she won the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor of Virginia on the fifth ballot, defeating second-place finisher Tim Hugo by 54 percent to 46 percent.”
In her victory speech after willing the race for lieutenant governor of Virginia, Mrs. Sears is quoted as saying: “When I joined the Marine Corps, I was still a Jamaican. But this country had done so much for me, I was willing, willing, to die for this country.”
