Wilma Webb
Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Script error: No such module "infobox".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Script error: No such module "Check for conflicting parameters". Wilma J. Webb (born 1944) is an American politician who was a member of the Colorado General Assembly from 1980 to 1993. A Democrat, she represented Denver County in the Colorado House of Representatives.[1] 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 before it became the federal Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday, and for her efforts to educate the young about King's legacy.[2]
Early life and education
Webb was born in Denver, Colorado, to 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, in office from 1991 to 2003.[4] She was the first First Lady of Denver to have held political office herself.[5]
During her time in the Colorado House of Representatives, 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,[6]
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.[6]
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
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- Pages with script errors
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- 1944 births
- Living people
- African-American state legislators in Colorado
- Members of the Colorado House of Representatives
- Women state legislators in Colorado
- Harvard Kennedy School alumni
- 21st-century African-American politicians
- 21st-century African-American women politicians
- 20th-century African-American politicians
- 20th-century African-American women politicians
- 20th-century American women politicians
- 21st-century Colorado politicians
- 20th-century members of the Colorado General Assembly
- Spouses of United States mayors