Wilma Webb
Wilma Webb | |
|---|---|
 | |
| First Lady of Denver | |
| In office July 15, 1991 – July 21, 2003 | |
| Preceded by | Ellen Hart Peña |
| Succeeded by | Helen Thorpe |
| Member of the Colorado General Assembly | |
| In office 1980–1993 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1944 (age 77–78) Denver, Colorado, U.S. |
| Spouse(s) | Wellington Webb (m. 1969) |
| Children | 4 |
Wilma J. Webb (born 1944) is an American politician who served as a member of the Colorado General Assembly from 1980 to 1993. She sponsored dozens of bills including school reform and equality initiatives. She is best known for sponsoring legislation that adopted Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday as a Colorado state holiday prior to it becoming the federal Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday, and for her efforts to educate youth about King's legacy.[1][2]
Early life and education[]
Webb was born in Denver, Colorado to parents Faye and Frank Gerdine. She attended the University of Colorado Denver without obtaining a degree.[3] As a state legislator, she attended the Harvard Kennedy School in 1988.[4]
Career[]
She married Wellington Webb in 1969. He later became the first African American mayor of Denver, serving from 1991 to 2003.[5] She was the first First Lady of Denver to have held political office herself.[6]
During her time in the Colorado General Assembly, she became the first African-American member of the Legislature's Joint Budget Committee (the Legislature's most powerful six-member committee), helping write the state's $4 billion budget in 1981.
She has been recognized by several organizations including the National Education Association. She was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 1991.[7]
Personal life[]
She and her husband have four adult children. She is a member of Zion Baptist Church of Denver, Colorado, and of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority.
References[]
- ^ "Shun violence, Wilma Webb pleads". Denver Post. January 17, 1994. Retrieved May 1, 2011.
- ^ "King Day came early for Wilma Webb". Rocky Mountain News. January 18, 1983.
- ^ www.blackpast.org
- ^ "The Honorable Wilma J. Webb's Biography". The HistoryMakers. Retrieved 2020-02-05.
- ^ "Wilma Webb biography". The History Makers. Retrieved May 1, 2011.
- ^ "Wilma Webb city's first First Lady with a resumé in politics". Denver Post. July 2, 1991. Retrieved May 1, 2011.
- ^ Colorado Women's Hall of Fame, Wilma J. Webb
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- 1944 births
- Living people
- African-American state legislators in Colorado
- African-American women in politics
- First Ladies of Denver
- Members of the Colorado House of Representatives
- Women state legislators in Colorado
- Harvard Kennedy School alumni
- 21st-century African-American people
- 21st-century African-American women
- 20th-century African-American people
- 20th-century African-American women
- Colorado politician stubs