This episode of Ballot and Beyond, contributed by the Maryland Women’s Heritage Center, was written by Ida Jones, Ph.D, University Archivist, Morgan State University in Baltimore. Dr. Jones is the reader. 

Verda Mae Freeman Welcome was an American teacher, civil rights leader, and Maryland state senator. Welcome was the second black woman to be elected to a state senate in the U.S. (Cora Mae Brown was the first in 1952). She spent 25 years in the Maryland legislature and worked to pass legislation that enforced stricter employment regulations and discouraged racial discrimination.

The advocacy, legislation, and historical example of Verda Welcome inspired generations of women and African Americans to pursue public office. Verda Welcome was inducted into the Maryland Women’s Hall of Fame in 1988.