Cheryl Artise Gray Evans (born 1968,

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, Louisiana) is an American lawyer and politician. She represented

District 5 District 5, 5 District or 5th District may refer to: Europe * District 5 (Zürich) * District 5, Düsseldorf * V District, Turku * District 5, an electoral district of Malta * District 5, a police district of Malta * Palma-Palmilla, also kno ...

in the

Louisiana State Senate The Louisiana State Senate (; ) is the upper house of Louisiana’s legislature. Senators serve four-year terms and participate in various committees. Composition The Louisiana State Senate has 39 members elected from single-member districts ...

prior to her resignation in 2009. She formerly served in the

Louisiana House of Representatives The Louisiana House of Representatives (; ) is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. This chamber is composed of 105 representatives, each of whom represents approximately 4 ...

(District 98).

Background

After finishing Eleanor McMain Magnet Secondary Senior High School in New Orleans, Gray proceeded to

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

, where she was a member of the track team and

Delta Sigma Theta Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. () is a List of African-American fraternities, historically African American Fraternities and sororities, sorority. The organization was founded by college-educated women dedicated to public service with an emp ...

, receiving her

baccalaureate degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years (d ...

in 1990. She then returned to New Orleans and received her

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the

Tulane University Law School The Tulane University School of Law is the law school of Tulane University. It is located on Tulane's Uptown campus in New Orleans, Louisiana. Established in 1847, it is the 12th oldest law school in the United States. Campus The law schoo ...

in 1993. She practiced law with New Orleans' Gray & Gray Law Firm, which was started by her parents.

Political career

Gray Evans is a confidant with the reform faction of the

Orleans Parish Orleans Parish (; ) is a parish of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Since 1870, the parish has been coextensive with the city of New Orleans, and the parish and city are largely governed as a single consolidated city. History On April 10, 180 ...

Democratic Party—the element frequently identified with the

Black Organization for Leadership Development Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''Psyc ...

(BOLD) political organization which inexorably competes against William J. Jefferson and his Progressive Democrats. Gray Evans defeated one of Jefferson's daughters, Jalila Jefferson-Bullock, for the Senate District 5 seat vacated by the

term-limited A term limit is a legal restriction on the number of terms a person may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potential for monopoly, whe ...

Diana Bajoie Diana E. Bajoie (born February 8, 1948) is an American retired politician from Louisiana. A Democrat, she was the first African American woman to be elected to serve in the Louisiana State Senate (1991) and the first woman to serve as Senate pres ...

, Jefferson's successor in the state Senate. She is a critic of the

Federal Emergency Management Agency The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Exec ...

's handling of recovery from

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

Personal life

Gray Evans' official state senate résumé lists a host of achievements, activities, awards, and memberships. She attends Asia Baptist Church in New Orleans and is married to former New Orleans television and radio news anchor/reporter Patrick Evans, who once served as Communications Director to New Orleans

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Ray Nagin Clarence Ray Nagin Jr. (born June 11, 1956) is an American former politician who was the 60th Mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana, from 2002 to 2010. A Democrat, Nagin became internationally known in 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. N ...

. Toward the end of 2009 Cheryl Gray Evans resigned from the legislature to join her husband, who had begun serving on active duty in

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

as a public affairs officer in the

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

.Peterson qualifies for state senate race
''Times-Picayune'', 2009 December 29, Saint Tammany Edition, p. B1.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gray Evans, Cheryl A. 1968 births African-American state legislators in Louisiana 21st-century African-American women politicians 21st-century American women politicians Baptists from Louisiana Delta Sigma Theta members Lawyers from New Orleans Living people Democratic Party Louisiana state senators Democratic Party members of the Louisiana House of Representatives Politicians from New Orleans Stanford Cardinal women's track and field athletes Stanford University alumni Tulane University alumni Tulane University Law School alumni Women state legislators in Louisiana 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American women politicians 20th-century American women politicians 21st-century members of the Louisiana State Legislature