Linda Foster Coleman-Madison is a Democratic member of the

Alabama Senate The Alabama State Senate is the upper house of the Alabama Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alabama. The body is composed of 35 members representing an equal number of districts across the state, with each district con ...

, representing the 20th District since 2006. Previously she was a member of the

Alabama House of Representatives The Alabama House of Representatives is the lower house of the Alabama Legislature, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of state of Alabama. The House is composed of 105 members representing an equal number of districts, with ...

from 2003 through 2006.

Early life and education

Coleman-Madison was born in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

. She graduated from Westfield High School, in her home town. She received an

M.A Ma, MA, or mA may refer to: Academia * Master of Arts, a degree award * Marin Academy, a high school in San Rafael, California * Menlo-Atherton High School, a public high school in Atherton, California * Minnehaha Academy, a private high schoo ...

. from

University of Alabama at Birmingham The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is a public research university in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. Founded in 1969 and part of the University of Alabama System, UAB has grown to be the state's largest employer, with more than ...

, as well as a B.S. from

Alabama A&M University Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University (Alabama A&M or AAMU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Normal, Huntsville, Alabama. Founded in 1875, it took its present name in 1969. It was one of about 180 " normal s ...

. She also attended

Birmingham Southern College Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

Career

Prior to her state service, Coleman-Madison worked in

marketing Marketing is the act of acquiring, satisfying and retaining customers. It is one of the primary components of Business administration, business management and commerce. Marketing is usually conducted by the seller, typically a retailer or ma ...

. In addition, she also has worked as a

realtor Real estate agents and real estate brokers are people who represent sellers or buyers of real estate or real property. While a broker may work independently, an agent usually works under a licensed broker to represent clients. Brokers and agent ...

, a

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

, a recruitment specialist and a compliance administrator. She has served in the

since 2006 as a

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 ...

. She previously served in the

from 2003 until 2006. Prior, she served on the

Birmingham City Council Birmingham City Council is the local authority for the city of Birmingham in the West Midlands, England. Birmingham has had an elected local authority since 1838, which has been reformed several times. Since 1974 the council has been a metropo ...

. In December, 2018, she served as the Minority Caucus Vice Chair. Coleman-Madison is a proponent of

abortion rights Abortion-rights movements, also self-styled as pro-choice movements, are movements that advocate for legal access to induced abortion services, including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their p ...

. She voted against the states

abortion law Abortion laws vary widely among countries and territories, and have changed over time. Such laws range from abortion being freely available on request, to regulation or restrictions of various kinds, to outright prohibition in all circumstances ...

, which essentially outlaws all abortions, with no exceptions for pregnancy which results from

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...

incest Incest ( ) is sexual intercourse, sex between kinship, close relatives, for example a brother, sister, or parent. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by lineag ...

. She proposed an amendment to the

Alabama Constitution The Constitution of the State of Alabama is the state constitution of the U.S. state of Alabama. It was adopted on November 28, 2022, as a recodification of the Alabama Constitution of 1901 which had been in effect since November 28, 1901, with ...

which would require the state to provide free prenatal and medical care for mothers who had been denied an abortion by the law, although her amendment was not passed.

Personal life

Coleman-Madison is a

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 ...

External links and references

Alabama State Legislature – Senator Linda Coleman
official government website
Project Vote Smart – Senator Linda Coleman (AL)
profile
Political profile at Bama Politics
*''Follow the Money'' – Linda Coleman
200620021998
campaign contributions Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:Coleman-Madison, Linda Democratic Party Alabama state senators Democratic Party members of the Alabama House of Representatives Living people African-American state legislators in Alabama Politicians from Birmingham, Alabama Year of birth missing (living people) Women state legislators in Alabama 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century African-American women politicians 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century members of the Alabama Legislature