Roxanne Jones
Roxanne Jones | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Pennsylvania Senate from the 3rd district | |
| In office January 1, 1985 – May 19, 1996 | |
| Preceded by | Milton Street |
| Succeeded by | Shirley Kitchen |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 3, 1928[1] South Carolina, United States |
| Died | May 19, 1996 (aged 68)[2] Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Political party | Democratic |
Roxanne H. Jones (May 3, 1928 – May 19, 1996)[3] was an American social activist and politician who served as a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania State Senate for the 3rd district from 1986 to 1996.[4] She was the first African-American woman to serve in the Pennsylvania State Senate[5] and the second woman to serve in the Senate[6] since Flora M. Vare in 1928.
Early life[]
Jones was born in South Carolina to Gilford and Mary Beatrice Burton Harper. She was educated at Edward High School.[5] She had to rely on welfare support as a young, single mother raising two children on a waitress salary.[7]
Career[]
Jones served as chair of the Southwark public housing chapter[8] of the Philadelphia Welfare Rights Organization from 1967 to 1968.[9] She was the founder of Philadelphia Citizens in Action, a board member of the Pennsylvania Minority Business Development Authority, a member of the Martin Luther King Center of Social Change and a member of the National Congress of Black Women.
She was elected to the Pennsylvania State Senate, District 3 in November 1984 and served from 1985 until her death in office in 1996.[5]
Jones died of a heart attack the week after she fought unsuccessfully to defeat Governor Tom Ridge's welfare bill that cut medical benefits to poor Pennsylvanians.[10]
Legacy[]
A mural of Jones was created on a building on Broad Street in North Philadelphia in her honor.[11]
Notes[]
- ^ Pennsylvania; Pennsylvania. Dept. of Property and Supplies; Pennsylvania. Bureau of Publications (1995). The Pennsylvania Manual. 112. Department of Property and Supplies for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Retrieved 2015-08-24.
- ^ "Jet". Jet : 2004. Johnson Publishing Company: 53. 1978-07-06. ISSN 0021-5996. Retrieved 2015-08-24.
- ^ Cox, Harold (2004). "Pennsylvania Senate - 1995-1996" (PDF). Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University.
- ^ Cox, Harold (2004). "Legislatures - 1776-2004". Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c "Pennsylvania State Senate - Roxanne Jones Biography". www.legis.state.pa.us. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
- ^ Washington 1994, p. 142.
- ^ Steckler, Paul. "Interview with Senator Roxanne Jones". www.digital.wustl.edu. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
- ^ Kusmer, Kenneth L. (2009). African American Urban History since World War II. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press. p. 334. ISBN 978-0-226-46509-8. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
- ^ Washington 1994, p. 83.
- ^ O'Matz, Megan. "Colleague's Death Reminds Lawmakers of Mortality When Senator Roxanne Jones Died. They Wondered: Could It Have Been Me?". www.articles.mcall.com. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
- ^ "Roxanne Jones mural on Broad Street in North Philadelphia". www.soulofamerica.com. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
References[]
- Washington, Paul M. (1994). "Other Sheep I Have": The Autobiography of Father Paul M. Washington. Temple University Press. p. 83. ISBN 1-56639-177-6.
roxanne jones philadelphia.
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- 1928 births
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