Blacks Making County History in 2021

Gwinnett County, one of the most diverse counties in the U.S., saw several high-profile public positions filled for the first time by Black people last year.

Nicole Love Hendrickson took office as the first Black chairwoman of the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners in January 2021.

In August, Calvin J. Watts began work as the first Black superintendent of Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS) and J.D. McClure was installed as the county’s first Black police chief.
The three new officials serve a county population of nearly 960,000 residents, about 33% of whom are Black, according to U.S. Census estimates.

Nicole Love Hendrickson, county chairwoman

Hendrickson won a 2020 countywide election to become chairwoman of the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners. The full-time chairwoman serves on a panel with four part-time district commissioners.

Previously, Hendrickson was founding director of the Gwinnett Community Outreach program, where she launched the Gwinnett 101 Citizens Academy and the Gwinnett Youth Commission. Before that, she served for eight years as associate director of the Gwinnett Coalition for Health and Human Services. Georgia Trend magazine named Hendrickson as one of the state’s top “40 Under 40” in 2018. She fills the position held by former County Chairwoman Charlotte Nash.

J.D. McClure, police chief

McClure, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, began work with the Gwinnett County Police Department as a police officer in 1996. Prior to becoming chief of the second largest police agency in Georgia, McClure served as deputy chief, commanding the department’s Operations Bureau.

He previously worked for more than a decade as a member of the Special Weapons and Tactics Team, which he left as tactical team leader. He has also commanded the Criminal Investigations Division and the Office of Professional Standards. McClure replaces retired former Police Chief Brett West.

Calvin J. Watts, schools superintendent

Watts is a former GCPS assistant superintendent who most recently served as superintendent of Kent School District in Washington state. The Pacific Northwest was his first home, but he has said he considers GCPS as the place where he grew up “professionally.”

He has been an assistant principal at Bethesda Elementary School, principal at Annistown Elementary School and Trickum Middle School, and has served on the county level as a director of human resources and an assistant superintendent in support of school and principal leadership. Watts replaces J. Alvin Wilbanks, who was GCPS superintendent for 25 years.