Charline White (September 1, 1920September 7, 1959) was the first African-American woman to be elected to the

Michigan Legislature The Michigan Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of the Senate (the upper chamber) and the House of Representatives (the lower chamber). Article IV of the Michigan Con ...

. In 1952, she was re-elected.

Early life

White was born in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

on September 1, 1920. Sometime in 1923 she moved to

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

. White graduated from Cass Technical High School and attended both

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 375 programs. It is Michigan's third-l ...

and Poro College.

Personal life

Charline White married LeRoy G. White around 1947. The two divorced in 1953.

Career

White ran both an advertising business and a floral business. In 1950, White was elected to the

Michigan House of Representatives The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 2020 ...

from Wayne County 1st District. She was sworn in for the first time on January 3, 1951. White was a member of the Democratic party. She was re-elected to represent Wayne County 1st District until November 2, 1954, when she was elected to represent Wayne County 11th District. She was sworn in for the first time for this position on January 12, 1955. She would win re-election two more time before her death on September 7, 1959. White died in office on September 7, 1959. Her vacancy was filled by David S. Holmes Jr.

Early life

Personal life

Career

See also

References

Further reading