Apparently “Doctor” Is Controversial—When the Candidate Is a Black Woman

There is a particular kind of audacity that deserves to be named plainly.
The recent lawsuit attempting to block City Supervisor candidate Flojune Cofor from using the title “Doctor” on the ballot is not just misguided—it is intellectually dishonest, historically predictable, and frankly, insulting.
Let’s start with facts—since those seem to be optional in this conversation.
A Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) is the highest academic degree awarded by universities. It is earned through years of disciplined study, research, writing, and defense of original scholarship. It is not honorary in this context. It is not decorative. It is not something one simply decides to “use.”
It is earned.
So when a sista earns it and uses it—accurately—why does it suddenly become a legal crisis?
Because let’s not pretend this is about clarity for voters. Voters are far more discerning than this lawsuit gives them credit for. This is about something far more familiar: the persistent need to question, diminish, and regulate Black women’s legitimacy the moment it becomes visible.
We have seen this pattern before.
When Shirley Chisholm declared herself “unbought and unbossed,” the establishment worked overtime to marginalize her.
When Dorothy Height was doing the heavy lifting of the civil rights movement, she was too often kept just outside the spotlight.
When Mary McLeod Bethune built institutions from nothing, she did so in a country that questioned her intellect at every turn.
Different decade. Same script.
The rules don’t change until we meet them. Then suddenly, they are rewritten.
Let’s be honest: titles have existed on ballots, in campaigns, and in public life for decades without this level of selective outrage. But let a Black woman—excuse me, let a qualified Black woman—step forward with credentials that cannot be denied, and now we are parsing semantics and filing lawsuits.
It would be almost amusing if it weren’t so transparent.
And here’s the part that deserves a little more light—and yes, a little more shade:
There is a long history in this country of people comfortably operating in spaces they did not earn, speaking with authority they did not study for, and benefiting from assumptions they did not have to prove. Yet somehow, it is the Black woman—with documented credentials—who must pause, explain, justify, and now apparently defend her right to be addressed correctly.
That is not oversight. That is bias—with paperwork.
So let’s call it what it is.
This is not about protecting voters.
This is not about maintaining standards.
This is about discomfort—discomfort with a sista who is educated, credentialed, and unwilling to shrink herself to make others comfortable.
And to that, I say this:
Dr. Flojune Cofor does not need permission to use a title she earned.
She does not need to dilute her qualifications to ease anyone’s unease.
And she certainly does not need a lawsuit to validate what her work has already proven.
She stands in a lineage of brilliance. She carries forward a legacy that has never waited for approval.
So if the presence of “Doctor” on a ballot feels threatening, confusing, or problematic, I would encourage a moment of reflection—not on her credentials, but on why they are so difficult for some to accept.
Because the title is accurate.
The discomfort? That belongs to you.