Rose Wilson was born outside of Waco and moved to Lubbock as a young married adult. She raised her children in the city. Wilson became the first African American women to become president of Lubbock’s NAACP—when she was working as a maid. Because of her work sector, she faced pushback by some community economic elites. Sheila Patterson-Harris was born and raised in Lubbock, Texas. Her father is T.J. Patterson-Harris, the first African American City Representative of Lubbock, Texas. She attended school at the University of North Texas Denton, Texas. After graduating from university, Patterson-Harris moved back to Lubbock and worked in the radio industry but transferred over to working as a probation officer for twenty-nine years. She won the city representative seat her father once had in 2016.

Gilbert Herrera was born in Lubbock, Texas. His father, a police officer, died on duty. Herrera was raised by a single mother. Having few economic opportunities, as a child he would break into homes to find food. As a teenager, Herrera joined a gang and eventually was jailed or imprisoned three times. He left prison a final time days before his mother died of cancer. During the early 1970s, Herrera began to lead and grow the West Texas Brown Berets. He organized several marches against police brutality and other social causes, including marches alongside African Americans, in and outside of Lubbock. Herrera is now a Baptist minister and leads a political action group in Lubbock named La Fuerza.