Kiah Duggins had accomplished much in her 30 years of life.
She was former Miss Kansas contestant, a civil rights attorney and was on the cusp of becoming a professor at Howard University.
On Wednesday night, she also became a victim of the midair collision between an Army helicopter and an American Airlines plane near Reagan National Airport, Fox News reported.
We extend our deepest condolences to the family, colleagues, and friends on the loss of Kiah Duggins.
— Movement 4 Black Lives (@Mvmnt4BlkLives) January 31, 2025
Attorney Kiah Duggins, a fierce advocate for justice, was a passenger on the flight that tragically crashed into the Potomac River last evening in DC.
Kiah was a… pic.twitter.com/etvfeamBmO
Howard University President Ben Vinson III confirmed the news and asked for privacy and respect for her family, students, and colleagues.
In a press statement, the university said Duggins was due to start as a professor at Howard University School of Law this fall.
“As a civil rights lawyer, she dedicated her career to fighting against unconstitutional policing and unjust money bail practices in Tennessee, Texas and Washington, D.C.,” per the statement. “Plans to honor her legacy will be shared in coming days.”
Duggins was also a civil rights attorney with Civil Rights Corps, a nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C.
Per the group’s website, Duggins worked with the ACLU of Northern California and with Neufeld, Scheck and Brustin LLP to “challenge police misconduct and other harms of the criminal legal system.”
That was before coming to the Civil Rights Corps.
She graduated from Harvard Law School. She served as the president of the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau.
Prior to that, she earned a bachelor’s degree from Wichita State University and completed a Fulbright grant in Taiwan, per the Civil Rights Corps.
Larry Strong was Duggins’ local pageant director as she competed for Miss Kansas and Miss Butler County.
He told KBTX that Duggins had “such a bright future ahead.”
“Such a bright future ahead, such a bright future ahead,” Strong said. “I know this is a difficult time for [Duggins’ family] and they’re in my thoughts and prayers.”
The Duggins family also issued a statement.
“We are coming to terms with the grief associated with the loss of our beautiful and accomplished firstborn,” the statement read. “Please respect our family’s privacy at this time.”
