Simone Bell
Encyclopedia
Simone Bell is a community organizer and politician from Atlanta, Georgia
. A Democrat
, she was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives
in December 2009 from the state's 58th district in DeKalb
and Fulton
counties.
The district lies in eastern Atlanta and includes the following neighborhoods: East Atlanta
, Cabbagetown
, Reynoldstown
, Edgewood
, Gresham Park
, Grant Park
, Kirkwood
, Ormewood Park
and Boulevard Heights
.
The seat had been held by Rep. Robbin Shipp (D–Atlanta) from 2007 to 2009 but Shipp resigned in 2009 due to conflicts with her job as a Fulton County prosecutor, triggering a special election. In the election held on November 3, 2009, Bell won 24% of the vote in a five-candidate field, placing second behind attorney and fellow Democrat Asha Jackson. In the runoff, Bell defeated Jackson by 56% to 44%. She was sworn into office by Chief Justice Carol Hunstein of the Georgia Supreme Court on December 22, 2009. She ran unopposed for re-election in 2010.
Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan
, Bell came to Georgia to attend Agnes Scott College
in Decatur
. She works in the Southern regional office of Lambda Legal
, a national non-profit legal group that focuses on LGBT
and HIV
issues.
Openly
gay
, Bell is the first African-American lesbian to serve in a U.S. state legislature; her partner is Valerie Acree. She is one of three openly LGBT members of the Georgia General Assembly
, alongside Reps. Karla Drenner
(D–Avondale Estates
) and Rashad Taylor
(D–Atlanta).
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
. A Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, she was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives
Georgia House of Representatives
The Georgia House of Representatives is the lower house of the Georgia General Assembly of the U.S. state of Georgia.-Composition:...
in December 2009 from the state's 58th district in DeKalb
DeKalb County, Georgia
DeKalb County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. The population of the county was 691,893 at the 2010 census. Its county seat is the city of Decatur. It is bordered to the west by Fulton County and contains roughly 10% of the city of Atlanta...
and Fulton
Fulton County, Georgia
Fulton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. Its county seat is Atlanta, the state capital since 1868 and the principal county of the Atlanta metropolitan area...
counties.
The district lies in eastern Atlanta and includes the following neighborhoods: East Atlanta
East Atlanta
East Atlanta is a neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia in the eastern portion of the city. The term "East Atlanta" is frequently misused to refer to the entire eastern portion of the city located in DeKalb County, roughly 10% of Atlanta's area annexed in 1909...
, Cabbagetown
Cabbagetown (Atlanta)
Cabbagetown is a neighborhood in Atlanta, Georgia located south of Inman Park, east of Oakland Cemetery, north of Grant Park and west of Reynoldstown. It includes Cabbagetown District, a historic district listed on the U.S...
, Reynoldstown
Reynoldstown
Reynoldstown is a historic neighborhood on the east side of Atlanta, Georgia, located between the Cabbagetown and Edgewood neighborhoods, north of Memorial Drive...
, Edgewood
Edgewood (Atlanta)
Edgewood is a neighborhood located on the east side of Atlanta, Georgia, United States, located approximately three miles east of downtown Atlanta.-History:...
, Gresham Park
Gresham Park, Georgia
Gresham Park is a census-designated place in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The population was 7,432 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Gresham Park is located at...
, Grant Park
Grant Park (Atlanta)
Grant Park refers to the oldest city park in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, as well as the Victorian neighborhood surrounding it.-Park:Grant Park is the fourth-largest in the city, behind Chastain Park, Freedom Park and Piedmont Park...
, Kirkwood
Kirkwood (Atlanta)
Kirkwood is a neighborhood in eastern Atlanta, Georgia that was designed by architect, Will Saunders. It is situated entirely in DeKalb County and near Lake Claire, East Lake, and Oakhurst. Kirkwood is bound on the north by DeKalb Avenue and on the south by Memorial Drive...
, Ormewood Park
Ormewood Park
Ormewood Park is a neighborhood located east-southeast within the Downtown Atlanta area of Atlanta, Georgia. Ormewood Park is east of Grant Park, south of Reynoldstown, west of East Atlanta, and north of East Confederate Street....
and Boulevard Heights
Boulevard Heights
Boulevard Heights is an urban neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia located south of East Confederate Avenue, east of Boulevard, north of Entrenchment Creek and west of the State of Georgia complex. The area is currently undergoing redevelopment to add single family homes and light commercial premises....
.
The seat had been held by Rep. Robbin Shipp (D–Atlanta) from 2007 to 2009 but Shipp resigned in 2009 due to conflicts with her job as a Fulton County prosecutor, triggering a special election. In the election held on November 3, 2009, Bell won 24% of the vote in a five-candidate field, placing second behind attorney and fellow Democrat Asha Jackson. In the runoff, Bell defeated Jackson by 56% to 44%. She was sworn into office by Chief Justice Carol Hunstein of the Georgia Supreme Court on December 22, 2009. She ran unopposed for re-election in 2010.
Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
, Bell came to Georgia to attend Agnes Scott College
Agnes Scott College
Agnes Scott College is a private undergraduate college in the United States. Agnes Scott's campus lies in downtown Decatur, Georgia, nestled inside the perimeter of the bustling metro-Atlanta area....
in Decatur
Decatur, Georgia
Decatur is a city in, and county seat of, DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. With a population of 19,335 in the 2010 census, the city is sometimes assumed to be larger since multiple zip codes in unincorporated DeKalb County bear the Decatur name...
. She works in the Southern regional office of Lambda Legal
Lambda Legal
Lambda Legal is an American civil rights organization that focuses on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender communities as well as people living with HIV/AIDS through impact litigation, education, and public policy work.Lambda's founder William J. Thom, Esq...
, a national non-profit legal group that focuses on LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
and HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
issues.
Openly
Coming out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
, Bell is the first African-American lesbian to serve in a U.S. state legislature; her partner is Valerie Acree. She is one of three openly LGBT members of the Georgia General Assembly
Georgia General Assembly
The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, being composed of the Georgia House of Representatives and the Georgia Senate....
, alongside Reps. Karla Drenner
Karla Drenner
Dr Karla Lea Drenner is an American academic and politician from Georgia. A Democrat, she is a member of the Georgia House of Representatives representing the state's 86th district in DeKalb County....
(D–Avondale Estates
Avondale Estates, Georgia
Avondale Estates is a city in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The population was 2,960 at the 2010 census.Avondale Estates was founded in 1924 by George Francis Willis, who purchased the entire village of Ingleside to create a planned community. The city was named after Stratford-upon-Avon,...
) and Rashad Taylor
Rashad Taylor
Rashad Taylor is a politician from Atlanta, Georgia. A Democrat, he serves in the Georgia House of Representatives, representing the 55th district in Fulton County. He was first elected in November 2008, taking office the following January...
(D–Atlanta).