Video footage from the KXAS-TV/NBC station in Fort Worth, Texas, to accompany a news story.

Fay Batch was born and raised in Fairfield, New Jersey. Her parents were social justice advocates with various organizations, including the NAACP. As a child and teenager, she participated in various rallies and joined picket lines in chain stores to challenge segregation. Upon graduating from high school, Batch attended the University of Southern California from 1975-1979. After graduating from the USC, she moved to the Midland-Odessa area with her husband, also a USC graduate, who was originally from the area. In Midland, Batch began registering African American voters in the east side of the city. Batch was elected to the Ector County ISD Board of Trustees, where she served from 2000 to 2013. In this position, she had a vital role in helping more fully integrate ECISD schools. As an School District Trustee, from 2000-2013, Batch helped oversee the school system reach unitary status under a federal court.