PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas – Here’s to the history makers. The ones with a vision, a purpose, a mission. The ones who do it anyway, even when others say it can’t be done or when it hasn’t been done before.
Here’s to the ones who keep going to make an impact on society, culture, and justice, one small step at a time.
All the small steps add up to big ones, Kendric Jones ’18 says.
Jones is Waller County’s youngest county commissioner and a 2018 graduate of Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU), where he holds a bachelor’s degree in agriculture economics.
He says that he was always encouraged to seek out a way to make a difference. From his mom showing him how to lend a helping hand to his classmates, recognizing that he was a fantastic leader, and putting the idea to run for public office on the table, he’s always had a heart for service.
“I was elected to the City Council in Prairie View while I was still a student, in 2017,” Jones remembers. “I was on the City Council throughout my senior year and [after] graduation. It just happened that I ran for the county commissioner seat and won it. I’ve always been the one that others turned to when they needed someone to speak up for them or bring a new or different perspective to the conversation. I saw a way I could do that for others in my county, and I realized it fit perfectly with my prior experience in local politics.”
Jones is also bringing a critical voice to the table – the powerful perspective of young, black Texans who are passionate about social justice. As a graduate of a Historically Black College/University (HBCU), he names PVAMU as a catalyst for his personal direction and his ability to put a voice to issues in his community from his unique perspective.
“If you need nurturing or need to become whole, an HBCU would do that for you in a heartbeat,” Jones said. “I didn’t want to go to college at PVAMU originally, and then I like to say, this is the best thing that God ever did for me. He blessed me and put me in this spot to meet the right people who poured into me and believed in my vision. My experience at PVAMU helped me create a vision and put me in a strong direction and on a path. I’m extremely honored and proud to be the state’s youngest county commissioner and one of several black leaders. PVAMU is a village that got me there and stood behind me.”
On a typical day, public policies, community development and business, and infrastructure issues and plans to fix roads and bridges come across Jones’ desk. He’s also part of building relationships in local government offices, where the “sit down and have coffee and listen” level conversations build a foundation for meaningful change.
“All the time, I get to speak up on different issues and have tough conversations,” he said. “I have a seat at the table and a voice to help people who looked like me and grew up where I’m from. And I can be a mentor to others who want to get here too. I make sure we have contracts with minority-owned businesses and create jobs in my precinct to give people of color and a wide variety of backgrounds opportunities to bring their voice to the community. Social justice goes far beyond my position and my work, but it’s a starting place.”
Jones credits his leadership foundation as starting in two places – with his mom and his PVAMU family.
“PVAMU is a place that helped me grow up,” he said. “I came there as a wide-eyed young boy, and over the last seven years, I’ve seen how Prairie View has helped me grow and mold me into the man I am today. It gave me opportunities I never thought I’d have. My family has been a rock as well. My mom and I just wrote a daily devotional together for the mind, body, and soul. We think it gives you the motivation to attack the day and arm yourself with courage and boldness.”
What’s next for Jones could be anything, as he’s so far proved. His plans for the next few years include going back to school to work on a Master of Business Administration and continuing to serve his community, wherever he is. In addition to his public service, he also sits on the board of his fraternity, where he mentors other Black men to speak up and have difficult but gap-bridging conversations. Even if it’s uncomfortable or a new experience, they are vital connections to make with others, he notes.
“The more we can have those conversations with people who don’t look like us, the stronger the wave of impact is, you know?” Jones said. “But the more we avoid it or don’t take the opportunity to pick the brain of someone different than us, the more disservice we’re doing to one another. For things to change, we have to understand each other and think outside of our own world. Our vision combined could change the world.”
Here’s to the history makers.
By Meredith Mohr
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