Gwendolyn Sawyer Cherry (August 27, 1923 – February 7, 1979) was an American politician in the state of Florida. She was a member of the

Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the C ...

from the 106th district. The first African-American woman to win election to the Florida Legislature, she served from 1970 until 1979.

Early life

Cherry was born in

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

. Her father, William Sawyer, was one of the first African American doctors in the city. She attended Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) where she received her undergraduate degree and, later, 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 ...

. She was a member of

Sigma Gamma Rho Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. () is a historically African American sorority. The sorority was founded on November 12, 1922. The organization was formed as a sorority in 1922, by seven African American women in Indianapolis, Indiana. At its i ...

sorority. She taught in the Miami Public Schools for more than 20 years, and she also served as a law professor at FAMU. She was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1965, and she became the first African-American woman to practice law in Dade County.

Political career

Cherry was a high school science teacher before deciding to return to school to earn a law degree from

Florida A&M University Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), commonly known as Florida A&M, is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. ...

. As an African-American woman, much of her career was pioneering. Cherry was a founder of the National Association of Black Women Attorneys. She was a Democrat. After careers as a teacher and a lawyer, Cherry was elected to the Florida House in 1970, becoming the first African-American woman to serve as a state legislator in Florida. During her four terms, she introduced the

Equal Rights Amendment The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was a proposed amendment to the Constitution of the United States, United States Constitution that would explicitly prohibit sex discrimination. It is not currently a part of the Constitution, though its Ratifi ...

and the

Martin Luther King Jr. Day Martin Luther King Jr. Day (officially Birthday of Martin Luther King Jr., and often referred to shorthand as MLK Day) is a federal holiday in the United States observed on the third Monday of January each year. King was the chief spokespers ...

state holiday, chaired the state's committee for

International Women's Year International Women's Year (IWY) was the name given to 1975 by the United Nations. Since that year March 8 has been celebrated as International Women's Day, and the United Nations Decade for Women, from 1976 to 1985, was also established. History ...

in 1978, and co-authored ''Portraits in Color: the Lives of Colorful Negro Women'' with Pauline Willis and Ruby Thomas. She also chaired the Minority Affairs Committee for the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 18 ...

and the National Women's Political Caucus in 1972 while serving as legal counsel for the

National Organization for Women The National Organization for Women (NOW) is an American feminist organization. Founded in 1966, it is legally a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. The organization consists of 550 chapters in all 50 U.S. states and in Washington, D.C. It ...

(NOW)'s Miami chapter.

Legacy

Cherry died in a Tallahassee car accident in February 1979. In his eulogy, former state governor and U.S. Senator

Bob Graham Daniel Robert Graham (November 9, 1936 – April 16, 2024) was an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 38th List of governors of Florida, governor of Florida from 1979 to 1987 and a United States Senate, United States senat ...

called Gwen Cherry "a champion for the rights of all people and a voice of reason and concern." She was inducted, posthumously, into the Florida Women's Hall of Fame in 1986. FAMU's College of Law dedicated a lecture hall in her name.

Miami-Dade County, Florida Miami-Dade County () is a County (United States), county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The county had a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the most populous coun ...

named a park after her which dedicates itself to helping educate children and helping at-risk youths. The Gwen S. Cherry Black Women Lawyers Association (GSCBWLA) formed in 1985 to address the concerns of women lawyers in the community. While it was originally called the National Bar Association Women Lawyers Division Dade County Chapter, it was decided in 2005 to be renamed in Cherry's honor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cherry, Gwen Florida lawyers Politicians from Miami Florida A&M University alumni Florida A&M University faculty Democratic Party members of the Florida House of Representatives Women state legislators in Florida 20th-century African-American women politicians Road incident deaths in Florida 1923 births 1979 deaths 20th-century American lawyers African-American state legislators in Florida 20th-century American women politicians American women academics 20th-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American lawyers African-American women lawyers 20th-century members of the Florida Legislature