Joyce Dickerson (born June 14, 1945) is an American politician from

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. She served three terms as a Richland County Councilwoman, including service as Chair, before a defeat in the 2020 general election to Derrek Pugh.

Early life and career

Dickerson originally from Savannah, Georgia, moved to

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-mo ...

in 1975 after her husband retired from the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

. After moving to South Carolina, she attended

Benedict College Benedict College is a private historically black college in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1870 by northern Baptists, it was originally a teachers' college. It has since expanded to offer majors in many disciplines across ...

, graduating

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

with a B.S. in Business Administration, and Midlands Technical College, graduating with an

Associate's degree An associate degree or associate's degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of academic qualification above a high school diploma and below a bachelor's degree. ...

in Psychology. She worked as a

compliance audit Quality audit is the process of systematic examination of a quality system carried out by an internal or external quality auditor or an audit team. It is an important part of an organization's quality management system and is a key element in the ...

or, retiring in 2006. Dickerson has been active in Democratic politics since the 1980s. She ran unsuccessfully for the

South Carolina House of Representatives The South Carolina House of Representatives is the lower house of the South Carolina General Assembly. It consists of 124 representatives elected to two-year terms at the same time as U.S. congressional elections. Unlike many legislatures, seatin ...

in 1996. She was elected to the Richland County Council in 2004, and has also served as State and Regional Director of the National Federation of Women Legislators, becoming Chair of NFWL in 2011. She served on the National Order for Women Legislators (NOWL) Telecommunication and Technology Task Force. Dickerson has also been active as a representative of Richland County on the National Multi Modal Transportation Steering Committee (NMMTSC), and served a two-year term on the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...

's Intergovernmental Advisory Committee. She is also a past President of the Women of the

National Association of Counties The National Association of Counties (NACo) is an organization that represents County (United States), county governments in the United States.

and is a former Chairwoman of the Central Midlands Regional Transit Authority. Dickerson was among a number of African American women from around the United States who endorsed

Hillary Rodham Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

for President in 2016.

U.S. Senate campaign

In October 2013, Dickerson announced that she would challenge incumbent Republican senator

Tim Scott Timothy Eugene Scott (born September 19, 1965) is an American businessman and politician serving since 2013 as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from South Carolina. A member of the Re ...

for his seat in the November 2014 election. Dickerson defeated her primary opponents with 67% of the vote before losing the race to Scott in the general election.

Selected works

References

External links

Senate Campaign Site

National Federation of Women Legislators Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dickerson, Joyce 1945 births 21st-century American women writers African-American people in South Carolina politics 21st-century African-American women politicians 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century African-American politicians Benedict College alumni Living people Politicians from Columbia, South Carolina Politicians from Savannah, Georgia South Carolina Democrats Women in South Carolina politics 21st-century African-American women writers 21st-century African-American writers 20th-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American women politicians 20th-century American women politicians 2014 United States Senate elections County council members in South Carolina Candidates in the 2014 United States elections African-American candidates for the United States Senate 21st-century American writers

Early life and career

U.S. Senate campaign

Selected works

See also

References

External links