Billie Carr

Born Billie McClain Carr, the late Carr was born in Houston, Texas in 1928. She grew up in Houston, graduated from Sam Houston High School in 1946, married three months later, had three sons, and over the years took many courses at South Texas College and the University of Houston. 

In 1952, she unexpectedly won Democratic chairman of her precinct, which began her political organizing career and set her up to become a household name in the Houston Democratic social sphere. Soon after, she became a protege of Frankie Randolph, a leader and benefactress of liberal causes who helped found the Harris County Democrats in 1953. From Randolph, Carr learned her skills in grassroots political organizing, which gave her the foundation to assume a leadership role in Harris County Democrats: the establishment of her statewide reputation as an organizer, convention strategist, and spokesperson for the statewide liberal coalition.

She was known as “The Godmother” for her work on behalf of the liberal wing of the Democratic Party. In 1954 Carr was elected a member from her precinct to the Harris County Democratic Executive Committee, serving in that capacity until 1972; she was also Harris County’s member on the Texas State Democratic Executive Committee from 1964 to 1966.

And quite literally, Carr was making space in society and politics for women, queer people, and black women, not just by her position but by activism and campaigning that she did for others. As a liberal activist and strategist, Carr also fought for civil rights. She protested the Vietnam War and fought for women’s rights in the 1970s, and for gay rights in the 1980s. She helped organize the 1966 campaign leading to the election of Barbara Jordan, the first black woman elected to the Texas Senate, and was later described by U. S. Rep. Mickey Leland as “the grand old lady of liberal politics” for her efforts in helping a number of minority candidates (including himself) win political office. She later established a business, Billie Carr & Associates, specializing in campaign and other political services.

In 1972, she began serving as a member of the Democratic National Committee, which she held until 2000. Her position and her goals maintained the progressivist and liberal focuses of the Democratic Party by keeping doors open and spaces open for women, for all women. And in 2002, Billie Carr passed away leaving behind a history of opening doors and asserting the power and normality of femininity in these positions of prestige and of power.