1. Jheanelle K Wilkins was born on May 29,1988 and is an American politician who has represented District 20 in the Maryland House of Delegates since 2017.
17 Facts About Jheanelle Wilkins
1. 2.
Jheanelle Wilkins grew up in New Castle, Delaware, where she graduated from William Penn High School and later attended the University of Delaware, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology in 2009; and American University, where she earned a Master of Public Administration in social policy in 2011.
3.
Jheanelle Wilkins started as an intern at the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights in 2008 and has served in various roles, including field assistant, field associate, and field manager.
4.
Jheanelle Wilkins now serves as the group's Director of State and Local Government Affairs.
5.
Jheanelle Wilkins served on the board of the Montgomery County Association of Black Democrats and was active with the Montgomery County Young Democrats.
6.
Jheanelle Wilkins is the first African-American woman to represent this district, and became the first Black woman elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in county history alongside Pamela Queen and Charlotte Crutchfield after winning election to a full term in 2018, during which she ran on a slate with Smith, state delegate David Moon, and Lorig Charkoudian.
7.
In 2020, Jheanelle Wilkins ran for convention delegate to the Democratic National Convention in Maryland's 8th congressional district, pledged to US Senator Elizabeth Warren.
8.
Jheanelle Wilkins was a delegate to the 2024 Democratic National Convention, pledged to Kamala Harris.
9.
In December 2022, Jheanelle Wilkins was elected as the chair of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland, succeeding Darryl Barnes.
10.
In October 2012, Wilkins attended a rally at the US Supreme Court in support of the University of Texas in Fisher v University of Texas, which held that colleges have some discretion to consider race when making admissions decisions.
11.
In 2023, Jheanelle Wilkins introduced legislation to allocate $15 million toward rental assistance vouchers.
12.
In January 2016, Jheanelle Wilkins said she would support the legalization of recreational marijuana in Maryland, but said she wanted the state's marijuana industry to reflect the state's diverse population.
13.
In January 2019, Jheanelle Wilkins was one of nine Maryland lawmakers to add their names to a manifesto signed by 326 state legislators to reaffirm their commitment to protecting abortion rights.
14.
In 2022, Wilkins said she opposed the US Supreme Court's ruling in Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization, which overturned Roe v Wade, saying that the ruling would disproportionately affect marginalized people.
15.
In March 2020, Jheanelle Wilkins said she supported the CROWN Act, which would ban discrimination based on hairstyle in Maryland.
16.
Jheanelle Wilkins voted for a bill to provide $8.5 billion in incentives to Amazon to build its second headquarters in Maryland, which she initially declined to back until she could see the bill in its final form.
17.
In 2020, Jheanelle Wilkins introduced legislation to provide tax breaks to small businesses affected by the construction of the Purple Line.