Wilma Webb

Wilma J. Webb (born in 1944 in Denver, Colorado) was a member of the Colorado State Legislature from 1980 to 1993. She sponsored dozens of bills including school reform and equality initiatives. She is best known for sponsoring legislation that adopted Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday as a Colorado state holiday prior to it becoming a national holiday,^[1] and for her efforts to educate youth about King's legacy.^[2]

Webb was born of parents Faye and Frank Gerdine in Denver, Colorado in 1944. She married Wellington Webb in 1969. He later became the first African American Mayor of Denver, serving from 1991 to 2003.^[3] She was the first First Lady of Denver to have held political office herself.^[4]

In 1970-1979 Webb attended the University of Colorado at Denver without obtaining a degree.^[5] As a state legislator she attended the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in 1988.

During her time in the Colorado State Legislature, she became the first African-American member of the Legislature's Joint Budget Committee (the Legislature's most powerful 6-member committee), helping write the state's $4 billion budget in 1981.

She has been recognized by several organizations including the National Education Association and the Association for Retarded Citizens.

She and her husband have four adult children. She is a member of Zion Baptist Church of Denver, Colorado, and of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority.

References

1. "King Day came early for Wilma Webb". Rocky Mountain News. January 18, 1983.
2. "Shun violence, Wilma Webb pleads". Denver Post. January 17, 1994. Retrieved May 1, 2011.
3. "Wilma Webb biography". The History Makers. Retrieved May 1, 2011.
4. "Wilma Webb city's first First Lady with a resumé in politics". Denver Post. July 2, 1991. Retrieved May 1, 2011.
5. www.blackpast.org