Dr. Erlange Elisme

On April 1, 2026, Coral Springs Vice Mayor Nancy Metayer Bowen was found dead inside her home. She was 38 years old, a first-generation Haitian American, an environmental scientist, and the first Black and Haitian American woman elected to the Coral Springs City Commission. Police have described her death as a domestic violence incident. Her husband has been charged with murder.

Spring has arrived in Georgia, and with it comes a familiar invitation: to pause, to notice what is growing, and to tend what needs attention. April carries a particular energy. The blossoms are no longer a promise. They are here. The ground is warm enough to receive whatever we choose to plant. As we carry forward the spirit of Women’s History Month and the strength of the women who anchor our families, workplaces, and community spaces, this season offers a framework for something deeper than

Every February, we speak the name Martin Luther King Jr. We know his dream. We can recite the speech. But there is something we do not always understand: the ground beneath our feet in America was broken open by people we do not always remember. And when we forget them, we forget ourselves. We forget the truth of how we came to be here.