Breaking Barriers: Kentucky’s First Female African American Senator, Georgia Davis Powers

by Guest on March 7th, 2011
in Know Your History, Politics and tagged , , , , ,

Kathy Groob, former elected city council member, publisher of ElectWomen Magazine, and partner at November Strategies political consulting firm contributed this inspiring article about Georgia Davis Powers, the first woman and first African American elected to the Kentucky state senate. It’s the first of a number of Women’s History Month guest posts I’m excited to share with 9 Ways readers.

At the time, Georgia Davis Powers had no idea she had made history in 1968 by becoming the first woman AND the first African-American elected to Kentucky’s State Senate. All she knew was that she wanted to make a difference in her community.

It was never her intention to become a politician, or even to work in government, but in the spring of 1962 Powers was introduced to politics upon the suggestion of fellow church member Verna Smith. Upon Ms. Smith’s advice she joined the U.S. Senatorial campaign staff of Wilson Wyatt. This led to six more years of managing mayoral, gubernatorial, and congressional campaigns. She also became heavily involved in the civil rights movement, leading the Allied Organization for Civil Rights in promoting statewide public accommodations and fair employment law in the early 1960’s. In 1964, she was one of the organizers of a march on the capital in Frankfort in support of equity in public accommodations, in which Dr. Martin Luther King and baseball legend Jackie Robinson participated.

In 1964 she was the first black woman elected to the Jefferson County Democratic Executive Committee. But after two years she resigned after becoming discouraged by the fact that the Committee had not discussed a single one of her proposals.

In 1966 she worked in the bill room during the legislative session for the Kentucky House of Representatives. This gave her the opportunity to see first hand how government functioned; as a result her political ambitions grew.

Later that year the Senator from Louisville’s 33rd District announced he would be moving out of the district and would therefore be relinquishing his seat. Powers knew this was the opportunity she had been waiting for. In order to win she knew she would have to raise money and organize. She immediately began seeking endorsements from important political leaders and the Teamsters union. In the end she won the election by 167 votes.

Upon arriving in the Senate, Powers did not know she was the first black, woman or man, elected to the Kentucky State Senate. What she did know was that she wanted to introduce bills on civil rights, equal rights, and education as her first orders of business.

Despite her new status as a Senator, Powers still experienced discrimination in Frankfort. Because she was from Louisville it was not possible for her to drive to Frankfort everyday to attend session. Like many other senators she needed to rent a hotel room for her stay during the session. She found the hotels the other Senators were staying at in Frankfort would not rent her a room. This would not be the last time she faced such obstacles.

Georgia Davis Powers went on to serve for 21 years in the Kentucky Senate. In her autobiography, Powers details her personal relationship with Dr. Martin Luther King, and the intimacy she shared with him as friend, trusted confidante, and lover.

Today, at age 88, she still inspires women with her stories and her advocacy for justice, equal rights and women’s rights.

About Kathy:
Kathy Groob is a successful business executive with 30 years experience. She has served as a senior executive of a $178 million regional real estate development and construction services firm. Currently she is a partner at November Strategies political consulting firm, a co-founder of Emerge Kentucky, a recruitment and training program for Democratic women, and she is also the publisher of ElectWomen Magazine.

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Copyright 2010 Gloria Feldt