Harriet Elizabeth Byrd (April 20, 1926 – January 27, 2015) was an American politician and educator from

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

who was the first African-American elected to the

Wyoming Legislature The Wyoming State Legislature is the legislative branch of the U.S. State of Wyoming. It is a bicameral state legislature, consisting of a 60-member Wyoming House of Representatives, and a 30-member Wyoming Senate. The legislature meets at the ...

.BlackPast.org-Remembered and Reclaimed-Byrd, Harriet Elizabeth "Liz" (1926-)
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Early life and education

Byrd was born Harriet Elizabeth Rhone in

Cheyenne, Wyoming Cheyenne ( or ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming, as well as the county seat of Laramie County, with 65,132 residents, per the 2020 US Census. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne metropolitan statistical ...

, and was the daughter of Robert C. "Buck" Rhone, a first class mechanic for

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

, and Sudie Smith Rhone, a homemaker. Her paternal grandfather Charles J. Rhone first settled in Wyoming in 1876, where he worked as a cowboy and railroader in Cheyenne and

Laramie, Wyoming Laramie is a city in and the county seat of Albany County, Wyoming, United States. The population was estimated 32,711 in 2019, making it the third-largest city in Wyoming after Cheyenne and Casper. Located on the Laramie River in southeastern ...

. She graduated from Cheyenne High School in 1944. Byrd graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree degree in education from

West Virginia State College West Virginia State University (WVSU) is a public historically black, land-grant university in Institute, West Virginia. Founded in 1891 as the West Virginia Colored Institute, it is one of the original 19 land-grant colleges and universities ...

, a

historically black college Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. Mo ...

Institute, West Virginia Institute is an unincorporated community on the Kanawha River in Kanawha County, West Virginia, United States. Interstate 64 and West Virginia Route 25 pass by the community, which has grown to intermingle with nearby Dunbar. As of 2018, the commu ...

in 1949. In 1976, she earned a Master of Arts degree from the

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyoming ...

Career

After graduating from college, Byrd returned to Wyoming in order to apply for a teaching job with the Laramie County School District, but was denied employment because of her race. She was subsequently hired as a civilian instructor in the Department of Administrative Services at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming. In 1959, the Laramie County School District reversed its earlier decision and hired her as an elementary school teacher based in Cheyenne for 27 years. Byrd served in the

Wyoming House of Representatives The Wyoming House of Representatives is the lower house of the Wyoming State Legislature. There are 60 Representatives in the House, representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts across the state, each with a population of ...

from 1980 to 1988, and in the

Wyoming Senate The Wyoming Senate is the upper house of the Wyoming State Legislature. There are 30 Senators in the Senate, representing an equal number of constituencies across Wyoming, each with a population of at least 17,000. The Senate meets at the Wyomi ...

from 1988 to 1992, becoming the first African-American to serve in both houses. During her career in the state legislature, she sponsored legislation establishing a state holiday in honor of

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

, achieving a partial victory in 1991 through the establishment of the Martin Luther King, Jr./Wyoming Equality Day which is popularly recognized as King Day in the state. Other legislation she sponsored included requiring the use of child safety restraints, expansion of available handicapped parking, and establishment of social services programs for adults.

Personal life

In 1947, Byrd married James W. Byrd on August 8, 1947, who would later become the first African-American police chief in Wyoming in 1966. The couple had three children: Robert, James, and Linda; and six grandchildren. Their son, also named James W. Byrd served in the

from 2009 to 2019, and was a candidate for

Wyoming Secretary of State The secretary of state of Wyoming is the state secretary of state of the U.S. state of Wyoming. It is a constitutional office, established under the Constitution of Wyoming and the secretary of state accedes to the governorship in case of a vac ...

in the 2018 election. Following her retirement from the Wyoming Legislature in 1992, Byrd lived with her husband in Cheyenne, Wyoming, until his death on December 5, 2005. Byrd died on January 27, 2015, at her home in

.Harriet Byrd Obituary Wyoming Tribune Eagle
/ref>

References

External links

Harriett Elizabeth Byrd collection
at The University of Wyoming -

American Heritage Center The American Heritage Center is the University of Wyoming's repository of manuscripts, rare books, and the university archives. Its collections focus on Wyoming and the Rocky Mountain West (including politics, settlement, and western trails) and ...

Select digital collection of the Harriett Elizabeth Byrd papers
on th
AHC digital archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Byrd, Harriet Elizabeth 1926 births 2015 deaths Politicians from Cheyenne, Wyoming Democratic Party Wyoming state senators Democratic Party members of the Wyoming House of Representatives African-American women in politics Women state legislators in Wyoming African-American schoolteachers Schoolteachers from Wyoming American women educators African-American state legislators in Wyoming Cheyenne Central High School alumni West Virginia State University alumni University of Wyoming alumni 20th-century American women politicians 20th-century American politicians 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American politicians 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American people