This Day In History: May 18th
One of five new African-American Members elected to Congress in 2002, Denise Majette, ran a campaign on pro-choice, anti-death penalty, pro-workers’ rights and pro-equity. Majette began her career as an attorney and evolved into a Congresswoman and Senatorial candidate.
She was born on May 18, 1955, in Brooklyn, New York. She attended Yale University after graduating from high school and earned her degree in American history in 1976. Majette continued her education and went to Duke University Law School. She graduated in 1979 and started her career as a staff attorney at the Legal Aid Society in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
During the 1980s, Majette relocated to Georgia to accept a position as law clerk for Judge R. Keegan Federal at the superior court of DeKalb County. She also served as a law assistant to Judge Robert Benham on the Georgia court of appeals before becoming a judge of administrative law for the Georgia State Board of Workers’ Compensation in 1992. The following year, Majette was appointed as a judge on the state court of DeKalb County by former Governor Zell Bryan Miller.
Majette worked as a judge for 10 years and presided over court proceedings such as criminal trials and civil cases. She resigned from the bench in 2002 to announce her democratic campaign for Congress in Georgia. She did not have the recognition of the incumbent Representative Cynthia A. McKinney, but she was able to secure an endorsement from Zell Miller, who had been elected to the Senate.
In 2003, Majette was sworn in to the U.S. House of Representatives after she defeated her Republican opponent, Cynthia Van Auken. Although she only served one term in office, she worked on the Budget, Education and Workforce and Small Business Committees. Majette was also president of the Democrats’ freshman class. and chaired the Task Force on Jobs and the Economy.
While in office, she also defended federally funded programs, voted against overhauling Medicare and proposed legislation to increase spending on the early education readiness program, Head Start. However, she announced her candidacy for the Georgia Senate in 2004 and defeated millionaire businessman Cliff Oxford.
She became the first African-American to earn a nomination for the U.S. Senate in the state of Georgia although she lost in the general election against Republican Johnny Isakson. Majette remained in public service after losing the election and returned to working as a judge in DeKalb County.
