This week on “The Monica Pearson Show,” U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, who is currently at the Democratic National Convention, brings her well-known energy and feistiness to the table.

Williams shares that her road to politics wasn’t a straight line. Raised by her grandparents in Alabama in a home with no running water or indoor plumbing, there were always high expectations set for her educationally. She earned a biology degree at historically Black Talladega College, then moved to Atlanta and realized biology and a career in the medical field was her family’s dream, not her own. Her passion was politics.

Williams started as a member of the Young Democrats of Atlanta and became the first Black woman chair of the party.

U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams is this week's guest on "The Monica Pearson Show."

Credit: AJC Staff

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Credit: AJC Staff

Like her predecessor, civil rights leader John Lewis, she doesn’t shy away from good trouble and has even been arrested while peacefully protesting with her constituents.

She is on social media and has advice for anyone in or running for public office: “Don’t read the comments.”

Find out why her husband calls her the Lorax; why she’s collaborating with Byron Donalds, a Republican Florida congressman with whom she disagrees on everything; and how her son makes her more aware of public perception.

Stream this episode of “The Monica PEarson Show”

Stream “The Monica Pearson Show” at www.ajc.com.

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U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, D-Ga., speaks at the Georgia delegation breakfast at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago on Aug. 19, 2024, the first day of the Democratic National Convention. (Arvin Temkar/The Atlanta Journal-Constitution/TNS)

Credit: TNS

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People join a rally in support for U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention employees on Tuesday afternoon, April 1, 2025, at the Atlanta headquarters after federal cuts triggered significant layoffs. (Photo: Jenni Girtman for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Credit: Jenni Girtman