Rosa Lee Franklin (née Gourdine; born April 4, 1927) is an American politician and nurse who served as a member of the

Washington State Senate The Washington State Senate is the upper house of the Washington State Legislature. The body consists of 49 members, each representing a district with a population of nearly 160,000. The State Senate meets at the Legislative Building in Olymp ...

from 1993 to 2011, representing the for the 29th District. She also served as the President Pro Tempore for the Senate.

Early life and education

Franklin was born Rosa Lee Gourdine on April 4, 1927, the fifth child born to Henrietta Bryant and James Edwin Gourdine. She was born in a house built by her father in Cordesville, an unincorporated community in Berkeley County, South Carolina, historically known for

Moncks Corner, South Carolina Moncks Corner is a town in and the county seat of Berkeley County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 7,885 at the 2010 census. As defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, Moncks Corner is included within the Charleston-North Charleston-S ...

. The youngest of 12 children, she was raised by her aunt and uncle in Georgetown, South Carolina. After graduating high school, Franklin studied nursing at the Good Samaritan-Waverly Hospital School of Nursing in

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-largest ...

. She later worked at a state hospital in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

and at the Brooklyn Jewish Hospital and Medical Center in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. Franklin moved to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

with her husband, James Franklin, a member of the military. They eventually relocated to

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Pa ...

. After settling in Tacoma, Franklin earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology and English from the

University of Puget Sound The University of Puget Sound (UPS or Puget Sound) is a private university in Tacoma, Washington. The university draws approximately 2,600 students from 44 states and 16 countries. It offers 1,200 courses each year in more than 50 traditional an ...

. She then earned a Master of Arts in social sciences and human relations from

Pacific Lutheran University Pacific Lutheran University (PLU) is a private Lutheran university in Parkland, Washington. It was founded by Norwegian Lutheran immigrants in 1890. PLU is sponsored by the 580 congregations of Region I of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ame ...

in Lakewood, Washington. She also holds a women's Health Care Specialist Certificate from the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...

Gynecorp Training Program.Official Rosa Franklin Biography on the Washington Senate Democratic Caucus website
/ref> She was later awarded an honorary doctorate from the

Career

Franklin worked as a registered nurse before becoming an elected representative. In 1972, Franklin ran for a seat on the

Tacoma City Council The Tacoma City Council is the major governing body in the city of Tacoma, Washington. The City Council has one mayor and eight council members, who are elected to serve four-year terms. The City Council has the power to write the laws of the city, ...

. Despite losing, she remained active in local politics and served as a Precinct Committee Officer for 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 ...

and as a member of the League of Women Voters. She was a

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1976, 1988, and 2008. Franklin was elected to the

Washington House of Representatives The Washington House of Representatives is the lower house of the Washington State Legislature, and along with the Washington State Senate makes up the legislature of the U.S. state of Washington. It is composed of 98 Representatives from 49 ...

in 1990 to represent the 29th District, and she won re-election in November 1992. After the state senator from the 29th district died in January 1993, Franklin was nominated as his successor.

Personal life

Franklin and her husband James have been married for sixty-two years and have three children and five grandchildren.

References

1927 births Living people Democratic Party Washington (state) state senators Women state legislators in Washington (state) African-American state legislators in Washington (state) African-American women in politics American nurses 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women Democratic Party members of the Washington House of Representatives African-American nurses {{Washington-politician-stub

Early life and education

Career

Personal life

See also

References