Avel gordly biography
- Avel Louise Gordly (born February 13, 1947) is an activist, community organizer, and former politician in the U.S. state of Oregon, who in 1996 became the.
- Avel Louise Gordly is an activist, community organizer, and former politician in the U.S. state of Oregon, who in 1996 became the first African-American woman to be elected to the Oregon State Senate.
- In 1996, Avel Louise Gordly became the first African American woman to be elected to the Oregon State Senate.
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Avel Gordly - I See My Light Shining
Oral history interviews are firsthand testimonies of people’s experiences of history. These interviews invite narrators (interviewees) to talk about their own histories, giving unparalleled insights into life decisions, actions, and experiences that may not already be part of the public record.
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In 1996, Avel Louise Gordly became the first African American woman to be elected to the Oregon State Senate. Gordly was born in Portlandon February 13, 1947. Her father, Fay Gordly, was a railroad worker active with the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and Maids; her mother, Beatrice Bernice Coleman Gordly, was a long-time member of Mt. Olivet Baptist church and a Grand Worthy Matron of the Eastern Star.
Gordly graduated from Girls Polytechnic High School in 1965 and worked at Pacific Northwest Bell until 1970. That year, she enrolled at Portland State University, where she earned a degree in the administration of justice. After graduation, she worked for the Oregon Corrections Division as a women’s work-release counselor and later as an adult parole and probation officer.
A key affiliation for Gordly was the Black United Front (BUF). A national civil rights group headquartered in Chicago, Portland’s dynamic BUF was founded in 1979 by a core group of activists, including Ronald Herndon and the Reverend John Jackson. In addition to handling media work for the group, Gordly co
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Avel Gordly
American politician
Avel Louise Gordly (born February 13, 1947) is an activist, community organizer, and former politician in the U.S. state of Oregon, who in 1996 became the first African-American woman to be elected to the Oregon State Senate. She served in the Senate from 1997 to 2009. Previously, she served for five years in the Oregon House of Representatives.
Early years
Gordly was one of three children born in Portland, Oregon, to a mother active in local leadership within the Order of the Eastern Star and a father who worked for the railroad.[1] Her father was a strict authoritarian whom she feared. This fear kept them from being close and was also the reason for her brother, nine years her senior, would leave home early to join the Air Force.[2] Her church community was a big influence on her, with many of the women, including her grandmothers, serving as role models.[2] Her grandma Randolph was a founder in both the Oregon's Association of Colored Women's Clubs and Portland's Harriet Tubman Club.[2] She
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