Charles A. McCullough II
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Charles A. McCullough II Esquire | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1978 (age 47–48) |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation | Attorney/Arbitrator |
Charles McCullough (born 1978) is an American politician and civil rights activist.[1][2][3][4] At age 16 he was the first African American directly elected student member of the Montgomery County, Maryland board of education.[3][1][5] As a school board member, McCullough was an activist for LGBTQIA rights.[6][7][8]
In 1995, McCullough became the first African American directly elected to serve as student member of the Board of Education (SMOB) of Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS).[9][10][11] McCullough received 25,923 (87%) of the 29,544 total votes cast.[12][5] At the time of his election, MCPS comprised 117,000 students in 179 schools across 500 square miles.[13]
As SMOB, McCullough had full voting rights on all policy matters and administrative hires.[14][15] On the school board, McCullough was an advocate for LGBTQIA rights.[4][16][17] He authored Resolution No. 240-1996 Human Relations Policy (Sexual Orientation and Inclusion).[18][19][20] For several months between its proposal and adoption, protests occurred, and the policy was the subject of debate that received national media attention.[21][22][23][6] In adopting the resolution, MCPS became one of the first school systems in the United States to establish a policy protecting LGBTQIA employees from discrimination.[24][25][18][6][26] After its adoption the policy served as an example for school districts seeking to protect homosexuals from discrimination.[27][28]
During McCullough's term he lobbied for the establishment of a SMOB scholarship, restored the MCPS middle school sports program, and defeated a proposal to implement a school bus fee.[29][30][31][32][33][34]
In 1998, McCullough became the second African American to serve as president of the Pepperdine University Student Government Association.[35] In this role he led a student protest movement resulting in the undergraduate college recognizing Martin Luther King Jr. Day.[36][37]
In 2009, McCullough was elected to the board of directors of the United States Postal Service Federal Credit Union (USPSFCU).[38][39][40] In 2014, at age 26, McCullough became chairman of the USPSFCU board of directors.[41][42][43] During his time as chair, the credit union implemented new online banking services and opened a new branch location.[38][42][44][45][46]
In 2017, McCullough announced his candidacy for the Arlington County Board running as a self-described progressive-independent candidate.[47][48][49] Following the Charlottesville attack, McCullough called for the renaming of Jefferson Davis Highway, the section of Route 1 in Arlington County.[2][50] McCullough received the endorsement of progressive political organizations including the Arlington Green Party and Working Families Party.[51][52]