Dr. Alexis

Meet me in Houston this Saturday
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Pastor Suzette Caldwell
Dr. Alexis Maston
Prophet Ricka Riley

My grandmother, Jacqueline "Jackie" Perkins, came from a beautiful woman named Chloe who gave birth to 19 children.

In 1959, at just 14 years old, my grandmother gave birth to my mother, Candance, on Christmas Day.

She never finished the eighth grade.

Most people would have assumed her story was already written.

Instead, she rewrote it.

She started as a bus driver and janitor for East St. Louis School District 189. In 1967, she helped organize the union and served as its secretary. She later earned her GED and spent more than 45 years working her way up to become Director of Buildings and Grounds, overseeing more than 200 employees and 38 schools.

I remember mayors, superintendents, pastors, dignitaries, and community leaders sitting in her living room. Long before I understood leadership or influence, I watched people seek her wisdom.

She was probably the first politician I ever knew. Not because she held office, but because she knew how to build relationships, bring people together, and get things done.

We have not always seen eye to eye, but I have always respected her gangsta.

The kind of gangsta that turns adversity into influence.

The kind of gangsta that earns a GED after life counts you out.

The kind of gangsta that rises from janitor to director.

The kind of gangsta that earns the respect of mayors, superintendents, pastors, and an entire community.

Then life asked her to pay a price no parent should ever have to pay.

In 1993, she tragically lost her son.

In 2014, she tragically lost her daughter, my mother.

I remember her saying, "There's always a price to pay."

Most people would never recover from losing both of their children.

Yet she kept serving.

She kept leading.

She kept showing up.

East St. Louis School District 189 eventually named the Buildings and Grounds facility after her.

A girl born to a mother of 19 children, who became a mother herself at 14 years old, grew up to oversee 38 schools, lead more than 200 employees, and have a building named in her honor & be the head trustee of her church Southern Mission Missionary Baptist Church

That is not just success.

That is legacy.

Her name is Jacqueline "Jackie" Perkins.

And whether she knows it or not, a lot of what's in me came from her. ❤️