WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH/Gray News) – As families and communities continue to identify victims in Wednesday night’s plane crash near Washington, D.C., there’s now news that a well-known civil rights attorney and former Miss Kansas contestant is among the 67 people who were killed.
Kiah Duggins was an attorney with Civil Rights Corps.
She grew up in Wichita and attended Wichita East High School.
In 2015, she represented the Miss Kansas Organization as Miss Butler County.
Former Sedgwick County Commissioner Lacey Cruse described Duggins as “a brave and beautiful soul, a light in the fight for civil rights.”
“Her loss is heartbreaking, not only for her family and friends, but for everyone who believes in justice and equality,” Cruse wrote in a Facebook post. “May her work, her message, and her spirit continue to inspire and create change. Gone too soon but never forgotten.”
Duggins was in Wichita visiting her family as her mother underwent surgery.
On Wednesday night, she was on her way back to Washington where she works.
The Duggins family issued a statement asking for privacy as they grieve.
“We are coming to terms with the grief associated with the loss of our beautiful and accomplished firstborn,” the statement read. “Please respect our family’s privacy at this time.”
Duggins’ profile on the website for Civil Rights Corps touts accomplishments that include litigating “on behalf of movements challenging unconstitutional policing and money bail practices in Tennessee, Texas and Washington, D.C.”
Duggins graduated from Harvard Law School after earning her undergraduate degree from Wichita State University.
Among those fondly remembering the 30-year-old is Larry Strong, who was Duggins’ local pageant director when she competed for Miss Kansas and Miss Butler County.
Having grown up in Wichita, Duggins sought to make an impact everywhere she went, from the classroom to the pageant stage. She helped to pave the way for other young women in their pursuit of education.
“She set up a project for underserved young ladies on helping them get into college, and it was called ‘The Princess Project,’” Strong said.
Strong said he last saw Duggins about a month ago and she shared that she was going to be a law professor at Howard University, a historically Black private college in Washington.
Now, memories of Duggins and the legacy she built are left with her friends and family.
“Such a bright future ahead, such a bright future ahead,” Strong said. “I know this is a difficult time for [Duggins’ family] and they’re in my thoughts and prayers.”
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