[citation needed] Her district included the areas and towns of Adelphi, Buck Lodge, Langley Park, Chillum, Avondale, Ridgecrest, Carole Highlands, Brentwood, North Brentwood, Colmar Manor, Cottage City, Cheverly, Kentland, Bladensburg, Landover Hills, West Lanham Hills, and Lanham.
She was one of five Howard University students who were plaintiffs in civil rights suits that were heard before the Supreme Court arguing for desegregation of the amusement park.
[citation needed] She was also a Freedom Rider in the 1960s and spent 40 days in jail in Jackson, Mississippi.
She was also a voter registration volunteer in McComb, Mississippi, helping African Americans who had been denied the right to register to vote reportedly for inability to interpret the Constitution before white registrars.
[5] She was a member of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland, and chairman of the Prince George's County Senate Delegation.