In the 1990s, a high school girl became a protégé of the powerful Northwest Coalition, a group of African-American activists and elected officials.
Among the group was Marian Tasco, who served as the 9th District councilmember for about three decades, the late Councilmember-at-Large Augusta Clark, and Dwight Evans, who represented the 203rd District in the state House for more than 30 years before being elected to Congress.