Personal Information
- Married with one child
- Baptist
- Educator
- B.A. Lemoyne-Owen College 1971
- President Emeritus of National Black Caucus of State Legislators
- Delta Sigma Theta sorority
Community Involvement
- State Legislative Leaders Foundation
- NAACP
- P.U.S.H.
- N.O.B.L.E.
- Memphis Chapter of LINKS
- First African-American woman elected to House of Representatives from city of Memphis
- First woman chairperson of the Shelby County Delegation
- First African-American woman elected speaker pro tempore of the House of Representatives
- Founder and chairperson of Annual Legislative Retreat of Tennessee Black Caucus of State Legislators
Service in Public Office
- House member of the 88th through 107th General Assemblies
- House Speaker Pro Tempore 95th through 106th General Assemblies
- Member, House Finance, Ways and Means Committee
- Member, House Education Committee
- Member, House General Sub-committee of Education
- Member, House General Sub-committee of Finance, Ways and Means
- Chairman Special Committee to Study Integration of Ex-Offenders into Mainstream of Society
- Governor's Juvenile Justice Reform Commission member
- House Committee to Study School Safety Issues
- Governor's Minority Business Development Advisory Committee