Alisha Thomas Morgan or Alisha Thomas Searcy (born September 5, 1978) is an American politician. She was a member of the

Georgia House of Representatives The Georgia House of Representatives is the lower house of the Georgia General Assembly (the state legislature) of the U.S. state of Georgia. There are currently 180 elected members. Republicans have had a majority in the chamber since 2005. T ...

from 2003 to 2015, representing the 39th district.

Personal life and education

Morgan graduated from

Spelman College Spelman College is a private, historically black, women's liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia. It is part of the Atlanta University Center academic consortium in Atlanta. Founded in 1881 as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary, Spelman re ...

, where she majored in sociology and drama.

Career

Morgan was elected to the

at the age of 23. She served on the Appropriations Committee, Education Committee, Governmental Affairs Committee, Health & Human Services Committee, and Juvenile Justice Committee. Morgan is a strong supporter of

charter schools A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of autono ...

and supports changing the Georgia Constitution to create a state commission to review charter school applications denied by the school board. She also supports a "trigger option" that would allow local parents to remove the administration of failing schools. Morgan supported Section 5 of the

Voting Rights Act The suffrage, Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of Federal government of the United States, federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President of the United ...

as a way to protect minorities from being stripped of their voting rights; this section was struck down by the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

in Shelby County v. Holder. Morgan also opposes

Stand-your-ground law A stand-your-ground law (sometimes called "line in the sand" or "no duty to retreat" law) provides that people may use deadly force when they reasonably believe it to be necessary to defend against certain violent crimes (right of self-defense) ...

s. In 2009, Morgan started her own company, Morganics, which focuses on public speaking and leadership development. Morgan has also published a book, titled "No Apologies: Powerful Lessons in Life, Love & Politics."

Georgia State School Superintendent race

In 2014, Morgan and her opponent, Valarie Wilson, went against one another in the Democratic runoff for State School Superintendent. Later, Wilson won the Democratic runoff facing Republican Richard Woods.

References

External links

* * 1978 births 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians African-American state legislators in Georgia (U.S. state) Businesspeople from Georgia (U.S. state) Living people Democratic Party members of the Georgia House of Representatives People from Austell, Georgia Politicians from Miami Spelman College alumni Women state legislators in Georgia (U.S. state) Writers from Florida Writers from Georgia (U.S. state) {{GeorgiaUS-politician-stub