Preparing for an uncertain future
By Roxanne Cordonier
DWGC, 1st Vice President for Programs
In February, we will be celebrating Black History Month. But this year, it’s less of a history lesson and more of a blueprint for surviving the next four years.
Our featured speaker is Davida Mathis, a Greenville attorney and first African American woman practicing in the 13th Circuit Solicitor’s Office. Davida is chairman of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition and she has traveled the country advocating, protesting and facilitating for the rights of Black Americans. She was an architect of the movement to recognize MLK Day in Greenville County.
Guest Speaker Lillian Brock Fleming has served on the city council for 44 years. She and her roommate were the first two black women to attend Furman University.
As we enter a regressive time, we can already see changes happening: An end to DEI and Affirmative Action, the whitewashing of history, and the potential rolling back of civil rights for undocumented residents and, of course, for women. How will the battles of the past inform our actions in the future?
More about our speakers
Davida Mathis has practiced law in Greenville, S.C. for 35 years. She was the first African American female Assistant Solicitor in the 13th Circuit Solicitor’s Office in Greenville, where she prosecuted violent crimes, drug offenses and white collar crimes. After prosecuting crimes for 6 years, Davida opened her own law practice in 1995.
Her passion is civil rights. As a long-time member and now local chairman of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, Davida has advocated, facilitated, marched, and protested for civil rights all over the United States. Her advocacy has taken her from the board room at the New York Stock Exchange seeking access to capital and contracts for minorities, to New Orleans marching for the right of Katrina victims to vote in Louisiana elections.. Locally, Davida was an architect of the movement to recognize the Martin Luther King Holiday in Greenville County.
Davida is a graduate of J. L. Mann High School in Greenville, and Oberlin College, in Oberlin Ohio. She received the degree of Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina in 1989. Davida is an accomplished pianist, singer, actor and dancer, having performed at the Warehouse Theatre, the Greenville Theatre, churches and venues across the country. She has been married for over 30 years and has one daughter who is a communications consultant.
Lillian Brock Fleming has committed her life to educating, leading and uniting her hometown Greenville, SC. Lillian and her roommate Sarah Reese were the first Black women to attend Furman University. Furman honored Fleming by creating the Lillian Brock Fleming Award, presented annually to a member of the Furman student body, faculty, staff or alumni in recognition of their work fostering thriving communities.
Lillian has served on the Greenville City Council since 1981. After 46 years as an educator in Greenville County Schools, she retired in 2017. A former Furman trustee, she was honored with the university’s Gordon L. Blackwell Alumni Service Award and the Richard Furman Baptist Heritage Award. She was named one of the 50 most influential People in Greenville three times.
As Democratic Women we look to these two powerful civil rights leaders for wisdom and guidance for the road ahead. We look forward to hearing about their personal experiences integrating white schools and workplaces, fighting for the recognition of the MLK Holiday in Greenville County and participating in landmark demonstrations including the Orangeburg Massacre.