The Honorable Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick was a trailblazer, a mentor, a fighter, and OUR fearless leader. 

Ms. Kilpatrick was born June 25, 1945, in Detroit, Michigan. From 1968 to 1970, she attended Ferris State University and received an associate's degree. In 1972, she received her bachelor's degree from Western Michigan University and in 1977 she received her master's from the University of Michigan.

In 1967, Ms. Kilpatrick joined the Shrine of the Black Madonna of the Pan African Orthodox Christian Church, a politically active congregation in Detroit that helped elect Detroit’s first Black mayor, Coleman A. Young, in 1973. 

In 1968, she married Bernard Kilpatrick, who would later win election as a Wayne County commissioner. They raised two children, Ayanna and Kwame, and divorced in 1981. Kwame Kilpatrick served as mayor of Detroit from 2002 to 2008.

Ms. Kilpatrick worked as a Detroit public school teacher for several years, until members of her church encouraged her to run for a vacant seat in the Michigan state house of representatives, and in 1978, she was elected to the legislature. In addition to serving in that position for 17 years, Ms. Kilpatrick was the first African American woman to serve on the House Appropriations Committee, chairing both the corrections budget and the transportation budget subcommittees during 14 years on the committee. Kilpatrick was also a house Democratic whip, a role in which she worked to build consensus on legislation.

In 1996, Kilpatrick successfully challenged three-term incumbent Representative Barbara-Rose Collins for a Detroit-area seat in the U.S. House. After being elected to represent Michigan's 13th Congressional District, Ms. Kilpatrick became the first chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus' Political Action Committee during the 109th Congress. She was also the first African American member of Congress appointed to the U.S. Air Force Academy Board.

Among her many accomplishments while in Congress: Ms. Kilpatrick served on the House Banking and Financial Services, the House Oversight and Appropriations committees, as well as the Joint Committees on Library. She was our community’s champion: Ms. Kilpatrick secured more than $70 million in federal funding for her district, including $500,000 for summer youth programs and $1.5 million for alternative-fuel buses.

Ms. Kilpatrick worked hard to reduce discrimination; her efforts were successful to secure a Presidential Executive Order compelling all federal agencies to increase contractual opportunities with minority businesses.

She loved her family, she loved and fought for her city, and she was unabashed in her support of African Americans. Ms. Kilpatrick died on Tuesday, October 7, 2025. And she is respectfully, notably, our Elder of the Year.