Alma Adams, the 100th woman to enter the U.S. Congress, represents North Carolina’s mostly-black 12th District. After serving 20 years as a state congresswoman, Ms. Adams brings to Washington her fiery determination to work on behalf of the middle class and bring equal rights to the citizens she now represents.
Adams, born Alma Shealy on May 27, 1946 in High Point, N.C., obtained her undergraduate and master’s degrees from North Carolina A&T University. She earned a Ph.D from Ohio State University in Art Education in 1981. Her political career began in 1984 when she became the first Black woman elected to the Greensboro School Board.
In 1987, she was elected to the City Council and served there before being elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives in 1994. Adams served as a state congresswoman until her election to the U.S. Congress. For 10 months, the 12th District’s 730,000 residents were without a representative after former rep Mel Watt was selected to lead the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
The void in leadership motivated Adams, who went on record saying that Governor Pat McCrory and other Republicans in the state were in effect disenfranchising voters of color in the past election cycle. A divorced mother of two and a grandmother, the former Bennett College professor is a vocal champion of women’s rights and education.
In her campaign, Adams promised to continue fighting for those in her district who are struggling to be heard in these politically turbulent times. Adams is also known for being a woman to wear many hats – literally.
She claims to own over 900 pieces of her stylish head wear and only removes them when she’s inside the main chamber of the House, where hats are forbidden. Adams is considered one of the rising stars of the congressional freshmen class.
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