[5] Her mother, Alberta, born in Hernando, Mississippi, failed sixth grade because she had to pick cotton, and had to work four jobs to support five children.

[6][7] Her father, James Thomas McGlowan, was a professor, a United Methodist minister, a civil rights worker, and a community activist who was also the first principal from 1958 to 1960 of Hernando Central (now called Oak Grove Central Elementary School), a building for African-American students from grades 1-12 during segregation; he died of cancer in 1982 when she was 12 years old.

[17] McGlowan served as Director of Outreach for the Better America Foundation, an organization founded by Senator Bob Dole that was focused on promoting community empowerment.

[19] From 1999 to 2005, McGlowan served as director of Government Affairs and Diversity Development for Chairman Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation.

She was responsible for the development and implementation of diversity initiatives within the Fox Entertainment Group and its owned and operated interests.

[23] In February 2010, McGlowan announced her candidacy for Congress in Mississippi's 1st congressional district to challenge incumbent Democrat Travis Childers.

[7] She also wanted to balance the national budget, implement tax cuts for small businesses, and create jobs in north Mississippi.

[28] She was the first black candidate as well as the first woman to run in Mississippi's 1st congressional district, and left the race stating: "We lost the battle but won the war.