Kiah Duggins was confirmed as one of the 67 victims involved in the tragic American Airlines crash on January 29th, when the plane collided with a military helicopter. Duggins was making her way back to Washington, D.C., following a visit to her mother in Kansas, who recently underwent a surgical procedure, as reported by PEOPLE.
Who is Kiah Duggins?
The 30-year-old civil rights attorney and former contestant in the Miss Kansas pageant hails from Wichita, KS. She’s the daughter of Dr. Maurice and Gwen Duggins. Duggins completed her education at Wichita East High School and later attended Wichita State University. She pursued her education, obtaining her JD from Harvard Law School.
Duggins served as a civil rights attorney with the Civil Rights Corps, engaging in legal efforts to contest unconstitutional policing and money bail practices across Tennessee, Texas, and Washington, D.C. While lawyering at Law 4 Black Lives Fellow, she studied prison industrial complex abolition and movement, according to the Civil Rights Corp website. She served as a White House intern under the leadership of former first lady Michelle Obama’s “Let Girls Learn” initiative; according to the Huff Post. She previously worked with the ACLU of Northern California and Neufeld, Scheck, and Brustin LLP to address issues of police misconduct and other injustices within the criminal legal system before joining CRC.
Duggins has an impressive array of accomplishments, including her role as president of the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau and her participation in a Fulbright program in Taiwan. The Fulbright program stands as a distinguished international exchange initiative, aimed at students and young professionals seeking opportunities for study, research, and teaching in foreign lands.
L-R:,Kiah Duggins recognized by Wichita State University’s W. Frank Barton School of Business at the 2013-2014 Clay Barton Scholar – Courtesy Of Wichita High School East and Duggins’ professional headshot photo – Courtesy of Civil Rights Corp
Alongside her impressive credentials, she engaged in numerous writings and participated in various media interviews.
Here is a list of her remarkable achievements, found on the Civil Rights Corp website:
- Harvard Civil Rights Civil Liberties Law Review: Abolition and International Human Rights: Taiwan’s Affirmation of Black American Abolitionist Movements
- The Appeal: U.S. Police Dogs Originated From Slavery — And Must Be Abolished
- Breakthrough News: Crime isn’t rising, but “dystopian capitalism” makes us think it is
- Tangle News: Debating Bail Reform
- Harvard Black Letter Law Journal: Belinda (Say Her Name)
According to the Civil Rights Corp website, she enjoyed traveling and dancing, took pleasure in exploring the world, and inquired with people about their magical moments.
L-R: Tributes from Howard University, the HBCU in Washington DC, she was set to teach this fall, and from Kiah Duggins’ childhood friend; Courtesy of LinkedIn and Facebook
She planned to begin her career as a law professor at Howard University this fall, according to the university’s LinkedIn page. The Howard University community, along with many others, expresses deep sorrow over the shining star’s passing.