Senfronia Calpernia Thompson (born January 1, 1939) is a state legislator in Texas. A Democrat, she has been a member of the Texas House of Representatives since 1972 representing the 141st District. She is the former dean of women Legislators in Texas. She has been elected to 25 terms in office.[1] Thompson also advises the United Negro College Fund in Texas.
Senfronia Thompson | |
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| Member of the Texas House of Representatives | |
| Assumed office January 11, 1983 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Constituency | 141st district |
| In office January 9, 1973 – January 11, 1983 | |
| Preceded by | Gib Lewis |
| Succeeded by | Homer Dear |
| Constituency | 89th district |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 1, 1939 Booth, Texas, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Residence(s) | Houston, Texas, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Texas Southern University (BS, MEd, JD) University of Houston (LL.M) |
| Profession | Attorney, educator |
Biography
editThompson was born in Booth, Texas and raised in Houston.[2] She has a Bachelor of Science in biology and a Master's degree in education from Texas Southern University; a Juris Doctor from the Thurgood Marshall School of Law; and a Master of Law in international law from the University of Houston. Thompson has two adult children, one grandson, one granddaughter and one great-granddaughter.[3]
She represents House District 141, which covers northeast Houston and the Humble area.
Thompson is the dean of women legislators, having served longer in the legislature than any other woman or African-American person in Texas history.[4] In October 2020, she filed to run for Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives,[5] but the Republican Party retained control of the chamber in the November 2020 election. On May 30, 2021, she described her own family's struggles to exercise their right to vote to fellow Texas House Democrats as they strategized how to block Senate Bill 7.[6] At 11:00 p.m., the Democrats staged a walkout of the House chamber to block a vote on the bill before the midnight deadline.[7]
References
edit- ^ Smith, Evan (2021-01-19). "Point of Order: The Queen's Gambit". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved 2021-01-20.
- ^ "Senfronia Calpernia Thompson". Thurgood Marshall School of Law. Archived from the original on February 21, 2015. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
- ^ Senfronia Thompson. Biography Texas House of Representatives. 2013. Retrieved July 1, 2013.
- ^ "The Rise of Women in State Legislatures: A State-by-State Map". Governing. 2021-03-11. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
- ^ Pollock, Cassandra (2020-10-23). "Democratic state Rep. Senfronia Thompson files to run for Speaker of the Texas House". The Texas Tribune.
- ^ Ura, Alexa (2021-06-01). "For Democrats of color, walkout on Texas voting bill was rooted in the long fight for equal voting rights". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved 2023-08-14.
- ^ Ura, Alexa (2021-05-31). "Texas Democrats abandon House floor, blocking passage of voting bill before final deadline". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved 2023-08-14.
External links
edit- Texas House of Representatives - Senfronia Thompson - official TX House website
- Senfronia Thompson For Speaker Of The House - official campaign website
- Project Vote Smart – Representative Senfronia Thompson (TX) profile
- Follow the Money – Senfronia Thompson
- Thompson, Senfronia and Florence Coleman. Senfronia Thompson Oral History, Houston Oral History Project, October 2, 1974.