Rita Dolores Walters (née White; August 14, 1930 – February 17, 2020) was an American politician.

Political career

Walters served on the Board of Library Commissioners for the

Los Angeles Public Library The Los Angeles Public Library system (LAPL) is a public library system in Los Angeles, California. The system holds more than six million volumes, and with around 19 million residents in the Los Angeles Metropolitan area, it serves the large ...

. Prior to this position, she served on the

Los Angeles City Council The Los Angeles City Council is the legislative body of the City of Los Angeles in California. The council is composed of 15 members elected from single-member districts for four-year terms. The president of the council and the president pro tem ...

representing the 9th district from 1991 to 2001. During that time, she chaired the Arts, Health & Humanities Committee where she reviewed matters related to the Library Department. She was the first African-American woman elected to the City Council. Prior to this job, she was on the Los Angeles Unified School District's Board of Education (1979–1991). Walters was also a teacher in the adult division of the Los Angeles School District for four years.

Background

Walters was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

, and moved with her parents and family to

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

. She moved to Los Angeles in 1955, and there she met and married Wilbur E. Walters. They had three children: David, Susan, and Philip. She died in Los Angeles while in hospice care from Alzheimer's disease.

Education

Walters graduated with a bachelor's degree in education from Shaw University and had an MBA from the

UCLA Anderson School of Management The John E. Anderson Graduate School of Management, also known as the UCLA Anderson School of Management, is the graduate business school at the University of California, Los Angeles, one of eleven professional schools. The school offers MBA (ful ...

Recognition

In 2009, Walters was recognized on the popular podcast, 'Vaguely Live Radio', as part of the feature 'Jimmy's Random Wikipedia Page of the Week'.

References

---- 1930 births 2020 deaths African-American city council members in California African-American women in politics California Democrats Deaths from dementia in California Deaths from Alzheimer's disease Los Angeles City Council members Politicians from Chicago School board members in California Shaw University alumni UCLA Anderson School of Management alumni Women city councillors in California 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women {{California-politician-stub