Charline White (September 1, 1920September 7, 1959) was the first African-American woman to be elected to the

Michigan Legislature The Michigan Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of an upper chamber, the Senate, and a lower chamber, the House of Representatives. Article IV of the Michigan Constitution, ...

Early life

White was born in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

on September 1, 1920. Sometime in 1923 she moved to

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

. White graduated from Cass Technical High School and attended both

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...

and

Poro College Annie Minerva Turnbo Malone (August 9, 1869 – May 10, 1957) was an American businesswoman, inventor and philanthropist. She is considered to be one of the first African American women to become a millionaire. In the first three decades of t ...

Personal life

Charline White married LeRoy G. White around 1947. The two divorced in 1953.

Career

White ran both an advertising business and a floral business. In 1950, White was elected to the

Michigan House of Representatives The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 2010 ...

from Wayne County 1st District. She was sworn in for the first time on January 3, 1951. White was a member of the

Democratic party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

. She was re-elected to represent Wayne County 1st District until November 2, 1954, when she was elected to represent Wayne County 11th District. She was sworn in for the first time for this position on January 12, 1955. She would win re-election two more time before her death on September 7, 1959. White died in office on September 7, 1959. Her vacancy was filled by David S. Holmes Jr.

References

. {{DEFAULTSORT:White, Charline 1920 births 1959 deaths African-American women in politics Politicians from Atlanta Politicians from Detroit African-American state legislators in Michigan Democratic Party members of the Michigan House of Representatives Wayne State University alumni 20th-century American women politicians Women state legislators in Michigan 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American politicians 20th-century American politicians Cass Technical High School alumni

Early life

Personal life

Career

References

Further reading