Jennifer Leigh McClellan, great-great-grandchild of slaves and the first Black woman from Virginia in Congress, was born on December 28, 1972, in Petersburg, Virginia, to Dr. James Fennimore McClellan, Jr., from Nashville, Tennessee, and a Virginia State University (VSU) professor, and Lois Dedeaux McClellan, a counselor at VSU. There are two other daughters, Jean E. McClellan Holt and Julie D. McClellan Beckwith.
McClellan’s early education began at the VSU campus nursery school in the basement of Gandy Hall, which houses the Registrar’s Office. She attended kindergarten and first grade on campus as well.
In 1990, after graduating valedictorian from Matoaca High School in Chesterfield County, Virginia, McClellan enrolled in the University of Richmond and received a Bachelor of Arts in English and political science in 1994. A member of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., McClellan then earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1997, where she served as president of the Virginia Young Democrat, was notes development editor of the Virginia Law Review, and participated in the Black Law Students Association. She worked with the Hunton & Williams law firm in Richmond until 2002.
In 2006, McClellan was elected to represent the 71st district in the Virginia House of Delegates, comprising all of Charles City and parts of Richmond, Hanover, and Henrico. Later served as a super-delegate at the 2008 Democratic National Convention and then as vice chair of Virginia’s Democratic Party. On November 15, 2008, Virginia Senator Tim Kaine officiated at her wedding to David Mills in Richmond. They are the parents of Jackson Mills and Samantha Mills.
In 2017, McClellan served as the Virginia state senator from the 9th district, chairing the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Commission and serving on the Task Force on the Preservation of the History of Former Enslaved African Americans. In 2019, McClellan delivered the morning commencement address at the first two separate commencement exercises at Virginia State University.
In 2020, McClellan supported a bill signed by then-Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam to reduce restrictions on abortion rights in Virginia. One year later, she led the successful effort to enact the Voting Rights Act of Virginia which aimed to eliminate voter suppression and intimidation in the commonwealth state That same year, 2021, she unsuccessfully ran against Terry McAuliffe for the Democratic nomination for governor of Virginia.
On February 21, 2023, in a special election after the death of Democratic representative Donald McEachin, McClellan won Virginia’s 4th Congressional District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. She defeated Republican Leon Benjamin, leading with 68 percent to Benjamin’s 32 percent, and will be counted among 30 Black women in the House of Representatives. All of them are Democrats.
The Honorable Jennifer Leigh McClellan is a recipient of numerous awards and accolades, including an honorary doctorate from VSU, the Trailblazer Award from the Virginia Leadership Institute, the Leadership Award from the Virginia Housing Coalition, the Health Policy Award from the Virginia Commonwealth University Student National Medical Association, and the Freedom Fund Banquet Award from the Richmond NAACP.
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Janet Kline, “McBath and McClellan to Deliver Commencement Address at Virginia State University,” https://www.diverseeducation.com/news-roundup/article/15104683/mcbath-and-mcclellan-to-deliver-commencement-address-at-virginia-state-university;
Mary Woods, “Jennifer McClellan ’97 Wins Historic Election to Congress
Alumna Is First Black Woman to Represent Virginia,” https://www.law.virginia.edu/news/202302/jennifer-mcclellan-97-wins-historic-election-congress;
Thomas Kidd, Richmond Free Press, “Sen. Jennifer McClellan ‘Accomplish your goals without being afraid to fail,” http://m.richmondfreepress.com/news/2019/may/24/vsu-grads-receive-uplifting-messages-2-commencemen/.
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