Georgia Davis Powers
Encyclopedia
Georgia Montgomery Davis Powers (October 19, 1923 – ) served for 21 years as a distinguished member of the state Senate in the Commonwealth of Kentucky
. When elected in 1967, she became the first person of color and the first woman elected to the Kentucky's State Senate.
, county seat of Washington County, Powers grew up in a family of nine children. She was the only girl with eight brothers: Joseph Ben (Jay), Robert, John Albert, Phillip, Lawrence Franklin, James Isaac, Rudolph and Carl. Her parents, Frances Walker and Ben Gore Montgomery, later moved the family to the state’s largest metropolis, Louisville
. As a young girl she attended Virginia Avenue Elementary School and Madison Junior High School. Shen graduated from Central High School in 1940, and from 1940-42 attended the Louisville Municipal College.
As a young wife and mother of an adopted son, William (known as Billy), Georgia and her husband Norman "Nicky" Davis joined the New Covenant Presbyterian Church in Louisville. A fellow church member Verna Smith encouraged Georgia to take her first steps into Democratic Party politics by joining the U.S. Senatorial campaign staff of Wilson Wyatt. For the next six years she worked on political campaigns, including that of Edward T. "Ned" Breathitt
who ran successfully for Governor of Kentucky in 1963.
It was during this period that she began to discover the value of local politics in helping the disadvantaged, and she developed the political skills that would serve her and her constituents so well over the next two decades. After the Breathitt campaign, Powers worked for the Allied Organization for Civil Rights
in promoting statewide public accommodations and fair employment laws in the early 1960s. In 1964, she was one of the organizers of a march on the state capitol at Frankfort in support of equity in public accommodations, an event in which Dr. Martin Luther King and baseball legend Jackie Robinson
participated.
Elected to serve in the Kentucky Senate from January 1968 to January 1989, Powers sponsored bills prohibiting employment discrimination, sex and age discrimination, in addition to introducing statewide fair housing legislation. Even as an elected official, she as not able to get a room in a hotel in segregated Frankfort. She also supported legislation to improve education for the physically and mentally disabled. Powers was a member of the Cities Committee, Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee and the Rules Committee. She served as secretary of the Democratic caucus from 1968-1988. She chaired two legislative committees: Health and Welfare (1970-76) and Labor and Industry (1978-88).
In her autobiography, I Shared the Dream: The Pride, Passion, and Politics of the First Black Woman Senator from Kentucky, Powers details her personal relationship with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
and the intimacy she shared with him as friend, trusted confidante, and lover. She was at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis
when Dr. King was assassinated in 1968. She supported the Rev. Jesse Jackson
's presidential campaigns in 1984 and 1988 by chairing the Kentucky campaign headquarters.
After she retired from her seat in the Kentucky Senate in 1988, she remained committed to the continuing fight for equal rights and human dignity. In 1990, Powers created the Friends of Nursing Home Residents (FONHRI) to organize faith-based volunteerism in the Louisville area to serve as visitors to the local nursing homes. She also incorporated in 1994 an organization called QUEST (Quality Education for All Students) to monitor the work of the Jefferson County school board to halt the return to segregated schools.
and an honorary doctorate of humane letters from the University of Louisville
. In 2010 the Kentucky Legislature, under House Joint Resolution 67, renamed the portion of I-264
that runs through the West End of Louisville the Georgia Davis Powers Expressway.
The University of Kentucky
endowed a chair in the name of Senator Powers as part of UK's Center for Research on Violence Against Women.
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
. When elected in 1967, she became the first person of color and the first woman elected to the Kentucky's State Senate.
Biography
Born in the city of Springfield, KentuckySpringfield, Kentucky
Springfield is a city in and county seat of Washington County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 2,634 at the 2000 census. It was established in 1793 and probably named for springs in the area.-Geography:...
, county seat of Washington County, Powers grew up in a family of nine children. She was the only girl with eight brothers: Joseph Ben (Jay), Robert, John Albert, Phillip, Lawrence Franklin, James Isaac, Rudolph and Carl. Her parents, Frances Walker and Ben Gore Montgomery, later moved the family to the state’s largest metropolis, Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
. As a young girl she attended Virginia Avenue Elementary School and Madison Junior High School. Shen graduated from Central High School in 1940, and from 1940-42 attended the Louisville Municipal College.
As a young wife and mother of an adopted son, William (known as Billy), Georgia and her husband Norman "Nicky" Davis joined the New Covenant Presbyterian Church in Louisville. A fellow church member Verna Smith encouraged Georgia to take her first steps into Democratic Party politics by joining the U.S. Senatorial campaign staff of Wilson Wyatt. For the next six years she worked on political campaigns, including that of Edward T. "Ned" Breathitt
Edward T. Breathitt
Edward Thompson "Ned" Breathitt, Jr. was a politician from the US state of Kentucky. A member of one of the state's political families, he was the 51st Governor of Kentucky, serving from 1963 to 1967...
who ran successfully for Governor of Kentucky in 1963.
It was during this period that she began to discover the value of local politics in helping the disadvantaged, and she developed the political skills that would serve her and her constituents so well over the next two decades. After the Breathitt campaign, Powers worked for the Allied Organization for Civil Rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
in promoting statewide public accommodations and fair employment laws in the early 1960s. In 1964, she was one of the organizers of a march on the state capitol at Frankfort in support of equity in public accommodations, an event in which Dr. Martin Luther King and baseball legend Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson
Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson was the first black Major League Baseball player of the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947...
participated.
Elected to serve in the Kentucky Senate from January 1968 to January 1989, Powers sponsored bills prohibiting employment discrimination, sex and age discrimination, in addition to introducing statewide fair housing legislation. Even as an elected official, she as not able to get a room in a hotel in segregated Frankfort. She also supported legislation to improve education for the physically and mentally disabled. Powers was a member of the Cities Committee, Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee and the Rules Committee. She served as secretary of the Democratic caucus from 1968-1988. She chaired two legislative committees: Health and Welfare (1970-76) and Labor and Industry (1978-88).
In her autobiography, I Shared the Dream: The Pride, Passion, and Politics of the First Black Woman Senator from Kentucky, Powers details her personal relationship with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...
and the intimacy she shared with him as friend, trusted confidante, and lover. She was at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
when Dr. King was assassinated in 1968. She supported the Rev. Jesse Jackson
Jesse Jackson
Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr. is an African-American civil rights activist and Baptist minister. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as shadow senator for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997. He was the founder of both entities that merged to...
's presidential campaigns in 1984 and 1988 by chairing the Kentucky campaign headquarters.
After she retired from her seat in the Kentucky Senate in 1988, she remained committed to the continuing fight for equal rights and human dignity. In 1990, Powers created the Friends of Nursing Home Residents (FONHRI) to organize faith-based volunteerism in the Louisville area to serve as visitors to the local nursing homes. She also incorporated in 1994 an organization called QUEST (Quality Education for All Students) to monitor the work of the Jefferson County school board to halt the return to segregated schools.
Awards and Honors
Powers was included in a national photographic exhibit which opened on February 8, 1989, at the Corcoran Gallery in Washington D.C.: Portraits of Black Women Who Changed America. In 1989 Powers received an honorary doctor of laws degree from the University of KentuckyUniversity of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...
and an honorary doctorate of humane letters from the University of Louisville
University of Louisville
The University of Louisville is a public university in Louisville, Kentucky. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of the first universities chartered west of the Allegheny Mountains. The university is mandated by the Kentucky General...
. In 2010 the Kentucky Legislature, under House Joint Resolution 67, renamed the portion of I-264
Interstate 264 (Kentucky)
The Henry Watterson Expressway, also known as the Georgia Davis Powers/Shawnee Expressway west of US 31W, is one of two Interstate Highways in the United States designated as Interstate 264 . It is 22.93 miles in length, and runs an open circle around central Louisville, Kentucky...
that runs through the West End of Louisville the Georgia Davis Powers Expressway.
The University of Kentucky
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...
endowed a chair in the name of Senator Powers as part of UK's Center for Research on Violence Against Women.