Born in Jacksonville, Florida at the end of Jim Crow and beginning of the Civil Rights era, Val Demings was a child of the sixties. Segregated neighborhoods, school integration, job discrimination low wage employment growing up in an environment with seven kids in a small two room house. Her parents jobs included janitor and maid sustained the family allowing Val the youngest to become the first of her siblings to attend college. She chose a degree in criminology from Florida State University, went into social work got bored and moved into the Orlando Police Department. She met her long life partner, Jerry Demings, in 1988 while working there, though she had sworn to not marry a police officer. The Orlando Sentinel articles goes into more depth on her story and personality. Val’s courage and determination continued educating herself with a degree in Public Administration from Webster University Orlando. Though rare, Val and her husband decided to live a principled life helping their community. Their choice of professions in law enforcement, then politics, has led them into roles as he, Mayor of Orlando, and her as US House of Representative.
She is a member of the Judiciary and Intelligence Committees. Her role on the House’s Homeland Security Committee expands her wish to protect her country at the highest level. Yet even more impressive is her role as an appointed member of the team that represents the House of Representatives as managers for the trial to indict and convict for removal of Donald J. Trump, the 45th President of the United States. She has the confidence of Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, as one of seven chosen to represent the House’s impeachment articles.
Val’s life story is straightforward in representing the American Dream. She made it through educating herself, building her career and having a family with three children, grand children and an accomplished husband. While her husband is as tall as Obama, in a photo she stands tall between them at 5 feet 4 inches and carries equal statue of influence and grace. Her life’s story grounded in the American Dream rises to a place where defense of the law has moved to making laws in the US Congress into defending the constitution. It is as if her life experiences was purposeful for this moment beginning January 21, 2020, a day after the MLK holiday, and the first day of delivering impeachment articles from the House of Representatives case against the present president to the US Senate.
Val Demings, appropriately assigned to the team lead by Committee chair Adam Schiff, of Intelligence. As impeachment house managers, a case up against partisan politics, patterns of abuse outlined in our constitution with proceedings that question bringing forth witnesses making this a fair trial. US Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, had committed to a case that would be ‘in lock stepped’ with the White House. Schiff as lead brought forth the people’s findings for impeachment showing the president’s meddling through foreign government enlistment to dig up dirt on his democratic opponent in the 2020 to attack his credibility and obstruct congress in their investigation. This bribery was established by withholding military funding authorized by Congress to help Ukraine fight the Russians who invaded their country. The discovery of this behavior came from a ‘whistle blower’, out of the government, who was involved with our government communications with Ukraine, where the president’s language and message caused alarm.
Val Demings is a an impeachment house manager with resolve, fitness, determination and commitment though tested will see her excellence over next several days and weeks. It is phenomenal that a life set in motion to help one’s community actually ends up being one that’s involved in saving our democracy!
Today at a young 62 years old, Val Demings is our protagonist and influential as we recognize who she is and why we must watch closely her passion to sustain our democracy for another generation.
Article by Lillian L. Thompson, creative at Lillianonline, LLC
Lillianonline is an art company committed to recognizing the accomplishments of Global Afro Women. We are advocates and promoters through blog, book and drawings. Our company offers positive images applied to lifestyle products, art for exhibits, our publication ‘Influentials’ with speaking engagements, coloring book, and our local black artist influenced workshops. Our website is Lillianonline.us.
Excellent comments
I am impressed with the job she is doing
Yes so impressive that she is considered a running mate. She has the profile and a very smart spouse as well!
Awesome post! Keep up the great work! 🙂