Hawthorne Elects First Black Woman to Its City Council

It took a century, but the city of Hawthorne finally elected a Black woman to its city council.

Not only that, but not one, not two, but three women of color all just elected to city office in a 100 year first for Hawthorne.

“Having three black women elected speaks to where the city wants to go,” Dayna Williams-Hunter, Hawthorne city clerk, said.

Councilwoman Katrina Manning says, “it wasn’t easy.”

“A lot of women of color are not provided the same resources as other women are,” Manning said. 

But city treasurer Marie Poindexter-Hornback says a Black female perspective can be especially valuable when tackling today’s most challenging policy issues.

Healthcare, supporting families in inflationary times, a woman’s right to choose, just to name a few.

“You need to be open and flexible. I mean, things change every day, and you have to have patience,” Poindexter-Hornback said. 

The three became fast friends on the campaign trail, heavily relying on each other to ultimately win.

Williams-Hunter’s background in public relations, Poindexter-Hornback the accountant keeping an eye on campaign costs and Manning’s political acumen, having run for office twice before.

“We’ve had men in these roles forever. it’s time to just give a different view and different perspective, you know?” Williams-Hunter said. 

Manning is philosophical when asked why it took Hawthorne — with a 27 percent African-American population — a century to elect its first Black woman.

“So I don’t have that answer. But I’m here now, and we’re gonna do amazing things,” Manning said. 

And it’s not just their own political futures they’re looking forward to. All three women say they’re thinking about the next generation.

“To show my daughter. like, ‘hey, my mom did this. she made it,’” Poindexter-Hornback said. 

Inspiring young Black women to seek office someday — just like they did, they told NBC4 — may turn out to be the richest reward of all.