Rep. Adams Names Mayor Lyles State of the Union Guest

CHARLOTTE (February 6, 2023) – Congresswoman Alma Adams (NC-12) has named Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles as her guest to President Biden's State of the Union Address to Congress on Tuesday, February 7.

The State of the Union Address will highlight the achievements and work still to be done under the leadership of President Biden. Guests, including Mayor Lyles, will be able to attend the State of the Union for the first time since 2020.

"Our country has made tremendous strides under President Biden thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, the American Rescue Plan and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. In Charlotte, Mayor Lyles has led local recovery efforts to make sure our city and our region recover from the COVID-19 pandemic," said Congresswoman Adams. “However, Vi has gone a step further by centering equity and racial justice in her time as mayor, and her work with the Mayor’s Racial Equity Initiative provided a clear framework to use American Rescue Plan Act funds in a way that addresses historic disparities in our community, and builds Charlotte back better than before. I am honored to invite Mayor Vi Lyles to be my guest to the State of the Union Address.”

The Mayor's Racial Equity Initiative is a Public-Private Partnership that is the corporate response to Mayor Lyles' call for a more equitable Queen City. The City of Charlotte allocated $10 million of its American Rescue Plan funds to the initiative to help address the digital divide. The city also leveraged ARPA funds to support housing, small businesses, local nonprofits, and workforce development, with nearly 80 percent of the city’s ARPA funds being distributed to the community.

"I feel honored and privileged to attend President Biden's State of the Union Address as a guest of Congresswoman Alma Adams," said City of Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles. "Her exceptional leadership and unwavering support have been instrumental in securing crucial federal funding for our region, including American Rescue Plan Act funds.”

Mayor Lyles continued, "Our city is making significant progress in promoting equity and correcting historical injustices through initiatives like the Mayor's Racial Equity Initiative, and we aim to serve as a model for similar initiatives across the country. Our goal is to set the standard for promoting racial equity and upward mobility for all."

About Mayor Lyles

Vi Alexander Lyles, a Democrat, is now in her third term as Mayor of Charlotte. As the nation’s 15th largest city, with nearly 900,000 residents, Charlotte is one of the top 10 fastest-growing large cities in the United States and one of only three cities to have grown by double digits each decade from 1960 through today.

Under Mayor Lyles’ direction, Charlotte continues to lead the nation in community engagement and action to address affordable housing. In 2018 and 2020, voters approved $100 million collectively – attracting private-sector help that often exceed a monetary match. The city has turned these commitments into investments in mixed-income housing, providing housing options for more than 5,000 families.

A proud history of public service distinguishes Mayor Lyles’ career in Charlotte. Prior to her election as Mayor, she served two terms on the City Council as an at-large representative from 2013 to 2017 and was voted Mayor Pro Tem by her peers for two of those years. Even before turning to elected office, Mayor Lyles was a valued city employee. Highlights of her career of service include creating the city’s first capital budget and leading the restructuring of government programs to evaluate and assess performance audits for city programs.

After retiring from the city, Lyles joined the Lee Institute and Flynn Health Holt Leadership as a consulting director, assisting non-for-profit governmental organizations in strategic planning and project implementation. She worked with the Charlotte Housing Authority Moving Forward initiative, the Committee of 21 transportation initiative, and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg African American Agenda and Achieve Together community-based advocacy education initiative.

In 2009, the Southern Piedmont Chapter of the National Forum for Public Administrators created the Viola ‘Vi’ Lyles Young Public Administrator Award, which recognizes “energy, commitment and drive for excellence in work and community service”.

Mayor Lyles holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Queens University, and a Master of Public Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is a trained facilitator and executive coach, completing programs at the Institute of Government, North Carolina State University and the Lee Institute’s American Leadership Forum.

About Congresswoman Adams

Congresswoman Alma S. Adams, Ph.D. is serving her fifth full term in Congress. After winning a special election in November 2014, Congresswoman Adams was sworn in immediately as the 100th woman elected to the 113th Congress.

She represents the 12th District of North Carolina, which includes parts of Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, and Cabarrus County. In 2015, she founded the Congressional Bipartisan HBCU Caucus, and continues to serve as co-chair. In 2019, she co-founded the Black Maternal Health Caucus with Rep. Lauren Underwood (IL-14). She serves on the House Committee on Agriculture and on the House Committee on Education & the Workforce as the ranking member on the Workforce Protections subcommittee.

Before serving as a member of the North Carolina General Assembly for ten terms, Congresswoman Adams served nine years on the Greensboro City Council. Throughout her service to the second district in Greensboro, Dr. Adams worked to create safe and affordable housing and the revitalization of neighborhoods. She began her political career in the 1980s by becoming the first African American woman ever elected to the Greensboro City School Board. It was there that she made a lifetime commitment to effecting social change in her community and beyond.

Congresswoman Adams has one daughter, Linda Jeanelle Lindsay, one son Billy E. Adams II, and four grandchildren: Joslyn Lindsay, Aaron Lindsay, Billy E. Adams III, and Miracle Sumner. Adams graduated from North Carolina A&T State University in 1968 and received her Master’s degree in Art Education in 1972. She earned her Ph.D. in Art Education and Multicultural Education from The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio in 1981.

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