Starting in 1971, Senator Ernie Chambers served 36 years in the Nebraska Legislature, with a four-year gap from 2009 to 2013 after term limits were introduced in the state house. In all but five of his years in office, Chambers was the only Black senator in the unicameral.

Now, with the 83-year-old term-limited a second time, Chambers’ north Omaha 11^th district has a new legislator filling his shoes. Terrell McKinney, who at age 30, is over five decades younger than Chambers, was elected to his seat in November. McKinney, who received Chambers’ endorsement prior to the election, defeated Fred Conley by an almost 30-percent margin last fall. But Chambers’ endorsement was no sure thing.

“Before he gave me his endorsement, we have talked a couple times,” McKinney said. “I asked for my endorsement earlier, when we first talked, and didn’t get it. I really didn’t try to rely on getting his endorsement. I wanted to put in the work, and that’s something he told me. He said, ‘At the end of the day, it’s on you to put in the work to get people to vote for you.’”

McKinney is just the 14^th Black member of the Nebraska legislature, and just the ninth since Nebraska converted to a unicameral body in 1937. He and Senator Justin Wayne are currently the lone Black legislators in Lincoln.

“It just means I have to come down here and try to get the job done, to represent my community and other communities, to do whatever I can to be an advocate, for not only the Black community,” McKinney said. “You’ve got the Sudanese community, you’ve got the Latinx community, you’ve got the Asian community, and having few minorities down here, you’ve got to take on a lot of roles. I’m okay with that because a lot of the issues I’m working for will assist in improving the lives of many groups.”

While McKinney shares some similarities with Chambers, including attending Creighton Law School, he said he is his own man.

McKinney said he’s “making this my own, not trying live in his shadow, but being me at all times.”

“I’m not Ernie Chambers. I’m Terrell McKinney.”

McKinney, who makes the drive from Omaha to the Capitol, said he is learning the processes of the legislature.

“Right now it’s been cool,” McKinney said. “Everyone’s been cordial, welcoming for the most part.”

McKinney said his focuses in the unicameral are decreasing poverty, criminal justice reform, education equity and access to healthcare. Reflecting on Wednesday’s presidential inauguration, McKinney said whether it’s at the national or local level, now is the time for all political leaders to be held accountable for campaign promises.

“Now I think it’s time to push for accountability from the White House to make sure that they stick to the promises they made during the campaign season,” McKinney said. “That’s for me too. You know, I need to be held accountable too. I think now is the time for community members to look at elected officials and begin to hold them accountable for what they ran on, whether it’s here in Nebraska on the state level, the city level, or on the federal level.”