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An awards ceremony for Syracuse City School District Commissioner Twiggy Billue quickly turned into a rally Monday, as supporters and local officials protested her pending removal from the district.

The Alliance Network honored Billue on Martin Luther King Jr. Day with a “Community Trailblazer Award” at Fountain of Life Church, just a day before she’s set to appear in front of the SCSD’s school board.

While Walter Dixie, president of the Alliance Network, gave Billue the award for her work in local education, many speakers centered their remarks on claims made by SCSD, and voiced support for Billue — no matter the hearing’s outcome.

On Oct. 8, a complaint was filed by the Syracuse Teachers Association, alleging Billue entered a Syracuse school, thereby “violating a board policy,” syracuse.com reported. SCSD board members later voted to begin the process of her removal on Dec. 26.

Billue claims she entered the school as a “concerned grandmother,” not as a commissioner, defending her grandson who had been bullied over the past two years.

Dewitt Councilor Bishop H. Bernard Alex, president of the National Action Network, facilitated the ceremony. Bernard Alex said the gathering acted as a space of “affirmation” on behalf of Billue and prayer for “positive outcomes.”

Billue, first elected to the board in 2023 and sworn in for her second term in office Jan. 5, told The Daily Orange she was “overwhelmed” by the support her community has shown for her amid the backlash from SCSD.

“I’m a grandmother and I did not do any wrongdoing,” Billue said. “My grandson was being bullied and (I’m) just not understanding how, with taking the same grandchild, with the same husband, to the school for three years, how all of a sudden, it got confusing.”

Organizers passed out flyers containing contact information for SCSD board members during the ceremony, where Alex urged the crowd to reach out and advocate on behalf of Billue before the hearing.

“Tomorrow should be a day where justice prevails, it should be a day where I’m able to defend myself,” Billue said. “It should be a day where I’m able to face my accusers, and it should be a day that, again, the truth comes out.”

Reverend Vernon Williams Jr., a guest speaker for the award, said he’s known Billue for years, calling her an “advocate for injustices.” He said the proximity of her reelection and her attempted removal is “suspicious.”

“I think that she deserves a fair shot at whatever’s going on,” Williams Jr. said. “She’s always able to stand for everybody else, so we ought to be able to stand.”

Former SCSD Commissioner Mark Muhammad, who also attended the event, criticized the board’s decision in a guest opinion column to syracuse.com, calling the move “cunning and calculated.”

Syracuse Mayor Sharon Owens also attended the event, along with Onondaga County Legislator Maurice Brown. Owens told The D.O. she was invited to the event by Bernard Alex, and decided to come based on her previous affiliation with the Alliance Network and the National Action Network.

She said she will wait to form an opinion on the complaint until after hearing the perspective of SCSD Tuesday.

“I’ve been really conscious of not really speaking about it all until we get through this process,” Owens said. “But today was an opportunity for me to hear (Billue’s) perspective of what’s going on.”

Avery Magee | Photo Editor

Syracuse City School District Commissioner Twiggy Ballue hugs Syracuse Mayor Sharon Owens during a Monday awards ceremony.

If Billue is removed from the board, she said she will appeal the decision to the New York commissioner of education. Williams and Dixie both said she will have their full support following the hearing, regardless of the decision.

Billue’s hearing will take place Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. at Nottingham High School.

Published on January 19, 2026 at 11:24 pm
Contact Arabella: akklonow@syr.edu