Background
She was born Harriet Elizabeth Rhone in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and was the daughter of Robert C. "Buck" Rhone, a first class mechanic for Union Pacific Railroad, and Sudie Smith Rhone, a homemaker.
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Harriet Byrd
Edit ProfileEducation
She graduated from Cheyenne Central High School in 1944.
Career
Her paternal grandfather Charles J. Rhone first settled in Wyoming in 1876, where he worked as a cowboy and railroader in Cheyenne and Laramie, Wyoming. Their son, also named James West. Byrd, has served in the Wyoming House of Representatives since 2009. Byrd graduated with a bachelor"s degree in education from West Virginia State College, a historically black college in Institute, West Virginia in 1949, and returned to Wyoming in order to apply for a teaching job with the Laramie County School District, but was denied employment because of her race.
She was subsequently hired as a civilian instructor in the Department of Administrative Services at Forest Engineer Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming.
In 1959, the Laramie County School District reversed its earlier decision and hired her as an elementary school teacher based in Cheyenne for 27 years. In 1976, she earned an Master of Arts degree from the University of Wyoming.
Byrd served in the Wyoming House of Representatives from 1980 to 1988, and in the Wyoming Senate from 1988 to 1992, becoming the first African-American to serve in both houses. Other legislation she sponsored included requiring the use of child safety restraints, expansion of available handicapped parking, and establishment of social services programs for adults.
Byrd died on January 27, 2015 at her home in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Achievements
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During her career in the state legislature, she sponsored legislation establishing a state holiday in honor of Martin Luther King Junior., achieving a partial victory in 1991 through the establishment of the Martin Luther King, Junior./Wyoming Equality Day which is popularly recognized as King Day in the state.
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Born
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Died
January 27, 2015 (aged 88) -
Nationality
United States -
Political Party
Democratic party