1. Avel Louise Gordly was born on February 13,1947 and is an activist, community organizer, and former politician in the US state of Oregon, who in 1996 became the first African-American woman to be elected to the Oregon State Senate.
10 Facts About Avel Gordly
1. 2.
Avel Gordly served in the Senate from 1997 to 2009.
3.
Avel Gordly's father was a strict authoritarian whom she feared.
4.
Avel Gordly's church community was a big influence on her, with many of the women, including her grandmothers, serving as role models.
5.
Avel Gordly's grandma Randolph was a founder in both the Oregon's Association of Colored Women's Clubs and Portland's Harriet Tubman Club.
6.
Avel Gordly graduated from Girls Polytechnic High School in 1965.
7.
Avel Gordly was the first woman in her family to graduate from high school.
Related searches
Harriet Tubman 8.
Avel Gordly was appointed to the Oregon House of Representatives in 1991, to replace Ron Cease, and later elected to the seat, ultimately serving three terms, representing parts of north and northeast Portland.
9.
Avel Gordly was a member of the Democratic Party until late 2006, when she dropped her party registration, becoming a nonaffiliated voter.
10.
Avel Gordly chose not to run for re-election in 2008.