Daisy Riley Lloyd (October 15, 1923 – May 15, 2019) was the first female

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

to serve in the Indiana legislature. She was one of fifteen

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 (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

s who represented Marion County (

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

) in the

Indiana House of Representatives The Indiana House of Representatives is the lower house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The House is composed of 100 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. House mem ...

during the 94th Indiana General Assembly. She later became a realtor and family counselor and continued to be active in her community.

Early life and education

Born Daisy Riley in

Lawrence, Kansas Lawrence is a city in and the county seat of Douglas County, Kansas, United States, and the sixth-largest city in the state. It is in the northeastern sector of the state, astride Interstate 70 in Kansas, Interstate 70, between the Kansas River ...

and raised on a farm. She was educated in the local public schools and graduated from Highland Park High School in 1946. In

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, she studied economics and sociology and earned a bachelor's degree from

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

in 1950, supporting her studies by working as a research assistant in the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

. She also met fellow student Frank Perry Lloyd of South Carolina, whom she married in 1950. The couple moved to Germany the following year, after the

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assigned her husband, an

obstetrician-gynecologist Obstetrics and gynaecology (also spelled as obstetrics and gynecology; abbreviated as Obst and Gynae, O&G, OB-GYN and OB/GYN) is the medical specialty that encompasses the two subspecialties of obstetrics (covering pregnancy, childbirth, and t ...

, there in 1951. The Lloyd family moved to

in 1953. Daisy Lloyd became a homemaker, raising four children and becoming active in her local

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church, although she and Dr. Lloyd ultimately divorced. After her political career discussed below, Lloyd earned counseling M.A. degrees from

Butler University Butler University is a private university in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1855 and named after founder Ovid Butler, the university has over 60 major academic fields of study within six colleges in the arts, business, communic ...

and the

Christian Theological Seminary Christian Theological Seminary is an ecumenical seminary related to the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and located in Indianapolis, Indiana. It provides five degree-level education courses, three dual-degree programs, a Doctor of Minist ...

in 1979, and later a PhD. in marriage and family counseling from

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

Political career

While a homemaker, Lloyd became active politically, later recalling protesting

segregation Segregation may refer to: Separation of people * Geographical segregation, rates of two or more populations which are not homogenous throughout a defined space * School segregation * Housing segregation * Racial segregation, separation of human ...

at the

Indiana State Fairgrounds The Indiana State Fair is an annual state fair that spans 15 days in August in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. The Indiana State Fair debuted in 1852 at Military Park (Indianapolis), Military Park in Indianapolis and is the sixth oldest state fair i ...

. She became active in the

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...

, the

League of Women Voters The League of Women Voters (LWV) is a nonpartisan American nonprofit political organization. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include Voter registration, registering voters, providing voter information, boosting voter turnout and adv ...

and

the LINKS The Links is an American social and service organization of prominent black women. It was founded in 1946 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As of 2025, it has 299 chapters and more than 17,000 members in the United States and other countries.. Its ...

Indianapolis' chapter. As a

, Lloyd won election to the

in 1964, becoming one of fifteen Democrats elected to represent Indianapolis and surrounding Marion County. Lloyd became the first African American woman to serve in the Indiana House of Representativevs; the winning Democratic slate also included Katherine O'Connell Fruits (1907-1994) and Cecilia M. Logan (1921-1976). All three Democratic women legislators served only a single term, since Indiana adopted numbered legislative districts for the next election, which proved to be a Republican landslide. During her legislative service, Lloyd was diagnosed with

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

and became one of the first women to discuss her diagnosis and treatment publicly. Republican (and former state

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)

Harriette Bailey Conn Harriette Bailey Conn (September 22, 1922 – August 21, 1981) was an American lawyer and politician. A civil rights activist who became known for her efforts to assist minorities, women, and defendants in Indiana's criminal justice system, Conn ...

, was elected in that election, and became the only African American woman in the 95th Indiana General Assembly.This Far by Faith p.19

Career

Lloyd realized her community was poorly served by realtors, so after her term finished, she studied and received a realtor's license. She worked with a firm owned by W.T. Ray, before starting her own business as president of Northside Realty. Inc. Lloyd became active in the National Board of Realtors, the Certified Property Managers Association and the Indianapolis Business Development Corporation. Lloyd also served as a Commissioner of the Indianapolis Public Housing Authority and as a member of the Commission for Higher Education after her legislative service. She also helped found the Butler Tarkington Neighborhood Association and the Center for Leadership Development. After receiving counseling degrees from

in 1979 (M.A. in Psychology and Religions) and

in 1985 (PhD in Human Development and Family Studies), Lloyd continued to assist individual clients as well as led retreats. She also received a D. Min. from

United Theological Seminary United Theological Seminary is a United Methodist seminary in Trotwood, Ohio. Founded in 1871 by Milton Wright, the father of the Wright brothers, it was originally sponsored by the Church of the United Brethren in Christ. In 1946, members o ...

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

in 2002. Lloyd also served on the state and national councils of family relations, and became a director of the Alpha Home, Inc. (serving senior citizens) and a member of the Chancellor's Advisory Council of

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis Indiana ( ) is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the south and southeast, and the Wabash Riv ...

. Lloyd was also active in the

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is an American nonprofit civil rights organization founded in 1920. ACLU affiliates are active in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The budget of the ACLU in 2024 was $383 million. T ...

, Links, Indianapolis Arts Council; Catholic Charities, Inc.; Community Service Council; Indianapolis Symphony Society;

American Cancer Society The American Cancer Society (ACS) is a nationwide non-profit organization dedicated to eliminating cancer. The ACS publishes the journals ''Cancer'', '' CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians'' and '' Cancer Cytopathology''. History The society w ...

; The Northeasterners and the Book Lovers Club, among many other activities.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lloyd, Daisy Riley African-American state legislators in Indiana 1928 births 2019 deaths Howard University alumni Politicians from Lawrence, Kansas Politicians from Indianapolis Democratic Party members of the Indiana House of Representatives 20th-century African-American politicians 21st-century African-American politicians Butler University alumni Purdue University alumni United Theological Seminary alumni 20th-century members of the Indiana General Assembly