We are starting to discover who was on that American Airlines flight that carried more than 60 passengers and four crew members when it crashed with a military helicopter on Wednesday evening, minutes before its scheduled landing.
Kiah Duggins, a Civil Rights attorney and Howard University professor set to begin teaching this fall, has been identified as one of the victims in the crash.
Duggins was returning to Washington, D.C., after visiting mother in her hometown of Wichita, Kansas, according to news reports.
In a statement from Howard University, the lawyer dedicated her career to fighting against unconstitutional policing and “unjust money bail practices in Tennessee, Texas, and Washington, D.C.”
She graduated from Harvard Law School in 2021, working throughout the pandemic to help families avoid illegal evictions. “As a student and lawyer, Kiah was known for her boundless enthusiasm for advancing justice for the most vulnerable, and for building community,” wrote Interim Harvard Law School Dean John Goldberg.
According to the Wichita Eagle, she also was “an intern for then-First Lady Michelle Obama in 2016 where she worked on the Let Girls Learn initiative.”
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In an instagram post, Tina Knowles, the mother of Beyoncé, expressed her sadness over the death. “So very saddened by the loss of this beautiful accomplished young woman,” Knowles wrote. “Rest in peace to her family sending condolences and love to you. God Bless your Soul Kiah.”
Seems Duggins high achievement began early in life. She was a former Miss Kansas finalist, a Homecoming Queen candidate and a member of many extracurricular activities. “A testament to the admiration and respect she earned from her peers,” Sara Richardson, her former high school principal, told USA Today.
In a memorial written for Duggins, Goldberg at Harvard Law School, wrote, “Kiah radiated optimism, kindness, and empathy that inspired so many to work alongside her.”
Duggins’ family has asked for privacy as they grieve, but in a fundraiser made by her sister, Aisha Duggins, she wrote that Kiah “was more than a scholar and activist—she was a beloved sister-friend, a source of inspiration, and a beacon of grace and integrity.”