Gloria Travis Tanner (July 16, 1935 – April 4, 2022) was a former United States politician and public figure. In 1994, she became the first

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

woman to serve as a Colorado state senator. In 2000, she founded a leadership and training institute for black women in

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

. She was inducted into the

Colorado Women's Hall of Fame The Colorado Women's Hall of Fame is a non-profit, volunteer organization that recognizes women who have contributed to the history of the U.S. state of Colorado. As of 2020, 170 women have been inducted. History There was a short-lived recogniti ...

in 2002.

Early life and education

Gloria Travis was born in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, Georgia, to Marcellus Travis and Blanche Arnold Travis. She is one of five sisters. Before attending college, she was an administrative assistant for the Office of Hearings and Appeals at the

United States Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the ma ...

from 1967 to 1972. She reported for the ''Denver Weekly News'', an African American newspaper, from 1972 to 1976, and also worked as a real estate agent. She earned her bachelor's degree in political science from the

Metropolitan State University of Denver Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU Denver or Metro State) is a public university in Denver, Colorado. MSU Denver is located on the Auraria Campus, along with the University of Colorado Denver and the Community College of Denver, i ...

in 1974 and her master's degree in urban affairs at the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University o ...

in 1976.

Political career

In 1976 Tanner began working as the executive assistant to Colorado lieutenant governor George L. Brown. In 1978 she became executive director of communications for Colorado state senator Regis Groff. She successfully ran for a seat in the Colorado State House of Representatives for the 7th district in 1985. She became the second African American to fill a leadership position in the house with her election as House Minority Caucus leader in 1987, a position she held until 1990. Upon the resignation of Groff in 1994, Tanner was appointed to replace him. This appointment made her the first African American woman state senator in Colorado history. Representing District 33 as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, she served as a member of the senate's joint budget committee and "sponsored and passed significant legislation pertaining to civil rights for women and minorities, marital discrimination in the workplace, parental responsibility, workers' compensation cost savings, and parental rights for adoptive parents". She retired from the senate as of January 1, 2001.

Leadership and training institute

In October 2000 she announced the establishment of the Senator Gloria Tanner Leadership and Training Institute for Future Black Women Leaders of Colorado. This institute grooms black women to serve in the state government, on commissions, and on boards.

Other activities

Tanner was the instigator and co-founder of Colorado Black Women for Political Action, founded in 1977, and past chair of the Colorado Caucus of Black Elected Officials. In 1998 she was elected president of the National Organization of Black Elected Legislators/Women.

Awards and honors

Tanner was named "2000 Legislator of the Year" by the Colorado Association of Community Centered Boards, and was a co-winner of "Legislator of the Year" by the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association in 1998. She received the "Leadership Denver" award from the Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce. She was inducted into the

in 2002.

Personal life

In 1955, she married Theodore Ralph Tanner, with whom she had two daughters and a son.

References

Notes

Sources

* * *

External links

"Gloria Tanner's admirers flock to One Glorious Occasion"
''

The Denver Post ''The Denver Post'' is a daily newspaper and website published in Denver, Colorado. As of June 2022, it has an average print circulation of 57,265. In 2016, its website received roughly six million monthly unique visitors generating more than 13 ...

'', October 22, 2000
Colorado Women's Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tanner, Gloria Women state legislators in Colorado Colorado state senators Members of the Colorado House of Representatives Metropolitan State University of Denver alumni University of Colorado Denver alumni Politicians from Denver Politicians from Atlanta Businesspeople from Colorado Journalists from Colorado 1935 births Living people 21st-century American women