Terri Sewell
Encyclopedia
Terrycina Andrea "Terri" Sewell (born January 1, 1965) is the U.S. Representative
for . She is a member of the Democratic Party
and the first black woman elected to Congress from Alabama. Sewell is the only Democrat in Alabama's seven-member Congressional delegation.
A native of Selma
, Alabama
, she is a graduate of Princeton University
, Harvard Law School
and Oxford University, and is a public finance attorney.
, Alabama
. Her maternal family offered its homestead to travelers on the 1965 March from Selma to Montgomery
. Sewell spent her childhood summers in Lowndes County, Alabama
with her grandparents. Her grandfather, a Primitive Baptist
Minister and a farmer, instilled in her a love for the land, an appreciation of hard work and the importance of her faith. It was her grandfather and the members of Beulah Primitive Baptist Church that gave her a deep understanding of the Black Belt Region
of Alabama
and its people.
Sewell is the daughter of retired Coach Andrew A. Sewell and former City Councilwoman and retired librarian Nancy Gardner Sewell of Selma
, Alabama
. Nancy Gardner Sewell was the first black woman elected to the Selma City Council. Both parents held careers in the Selma public school system. Sewell became the first black valedictorian of Selma High School
.
Sewell graduated with honors from Princeton University
and received a scholarship from U.S. News and World Report, among others. A lifelong Democrat
, during the summers while in college, she worked on Capitol Hill for 7th Congressional District congressman Richard Shelby
, as well as for then Alabama Senator Howell Heflin
. She was a leader on the college campus, serving in various roles including class vice-president, class representative to the Student Union, and spearheading the admission office’s effort to set up a Minority Student Recruitment office to recruit and encourage more minority students to attend the University.
Upon graduation from college, Sewell was featured on NBC
’s Today Show as one of the “Top Collegian Women” and was chosen as one of the “Top Ten College Women in America,” by Glamour Magazine
. She received the Afro-American Studies Thesis Prize for her senior thesis entitled, Black Women in Politics: Our Time Has Come which featured a personal interview with Shirley Chisholm
, the first black U.S. Congresswoman. She was awarded a Scholarship and continued her education, receiving a Masters degree with first class Honours from Oxford University. At the age of 25, she published her Masters’ thesis into a book on the election of the first black members of British parliament entitled Black Tribunes: Race and Representation in British Politics.
Sewell attended Harvard Law School
with the help of an NAACP Legal Defense Fund scholarship, graduating in 1992. In law school, she served as an editor of the Civil Rights Civil Liberties Law Review and published an article about the legal struggles in Selma in the Harvard Black Letter Journal entitled, “Selma, Lord, Selma” (vol. 8, Spring 1991).
, Alabama
to the Honorable Chief Judge U.W. Clemon, United States District Court (AL-ND), Alabama’s first black federal judge.
Sewell began her legal career in 1994 at the Wall Street
law firm of Davis Polk & Wardwell
. A securities lawyer for more than a decade, she gained a strong understanding of finance and capital markets. Sewell provided free legal services to the homeless, mentoring girls of color in NYC high schools through the program Dreams into Action and serving on the Alumni Advisory Board of Sponsors of Educational Opportunity, a not-for-profit organization providing education, leadership training and Wall Street
internships to students of color. Through her involvement with SEO, she served as the co-chair of the Community Assistance Fund, which provided $100,000 of aid and assistance to organizations serving communities of color affected by the events of September 11, 2001.
Sewell moved back to Alabama
in 2004 for family and community reasons. She returned to assist her mother in the care of her father.
As the first black female partner in the Birmingham
law firm of Maynard, Cooper, & Gale, P.C., Sewell has distinguished herself as one of the only black public finance lawyers in the State of Alabama. She currently serves as a lawyer helping to raise money for public projects for some of the state’s most underserved public entities, many in the 7th Congressional district, including the City of Selma
, Dallas County Water Authority and Lowndes County Board of Education. A firm believer in the importance of education, she made educational finance a particular focus of her practice representing the historically black colleges in the State of Alabama including Alabama State University
, Tuskegee University
, and Stillman College
as well as other state higher education institutions like Wallace State-Hanceville, Jefferson State Community College
, Chattahoochee Valley Community College
and the State of Alabama’s Public Schools and University Authority.
. She is the first African-American woman to represent Alabama in Congress.
, providing funds to establish the first Domestic Violence Court in Birmingham Municipal Court. Sewell is currently spearheading the effort to get Teach for America
to select Alabama’s Black Belt region as a new site in 2010.
Sewell has served on numerous boards including: St. Vincent’s Foundation (elected Treasurer of the Board and Chair of its Finance Committee), Girl Scouts of Cahaba Council, the Alabama Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society
, the Community Advisory Board for the UAB Minority Health and Research Center, the Governing Board of the Alabama Council on Economic Education, and she is a member of the Corporate Partners Council for Birmingham Art Museum. Her professional affiliations include American Bar Association
, National Bar Association
, Alabama Bar Association, the Birmingham Bar Association and the Magic City Bar Association. She is an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha
sorority and The Links, Incorporated.
Sewell was listed in the magazine Alabama Super Lawyers for 2008 & 2009 and was honored with the 2007 Minority Business “Rising Star” award by the Birmingham Business Journal (BBJ). She was also selected by the BBJ as one of the “Top Birmingham Women” in 2005. She was a member of the class of 2006-2007 Leadership Birmingham, a member of the YWCA
’s Women Leadership MOMENTUM class of 2007-2008. She is currently a member of the class of 2008-2009 Leadership Alabama.
Sewell is a lifetime member of Brown Chapel AME Church
in Selma
and currently worships at Sixth Avenue Baptist Church in Birmingham
. She was also selected to participate on the panel, "From Lincoln to Obama," for the Congressional Black Caucus' Annual Legislative Forum to discuss Southern politics.
Terrycina Andrea "Terri" Sewell (born January 1, 1965) is the U.S. Representative
for . She is a member of the Democratic Party
and the first black woman elected to Congress from Alabama. Sewell is the only Democrat in Alabama's seven-member Congressional delegation.
A native of Selma
, Alabama
, she is a graduate of Princeton University
, Harvard Law School
and Oxford University, and is a public finance attorney.
, Alabama
. Her maternal family offered its homestead to travelers on the 1965 March from Selma to Montgomery
. Sewell spent her childhood summers in Lowndes County, Alabama
with her grandparents. Her grandfather, a Primitive Baptist
Minister and a farmer, instilled in her a love for the land, an appreciation of hard work and the importance of her faith. It was her grandfather and the members of Beulah Primitive Baptist Church that gave her a deep understanding of the Black Belt Region
of Alabama
and its people.
Sewell is the daughter of retired Coach Andrew A. Sewell and former City Councilwoman and retired librarian Nancy Gardner Sewell of Selma
, Alabama
. Nancy Gardner Sewell was the first black woman elected to the Selma City Council. Both parents held careers in the Selma public school system. Sewell became the first black valedictorian of Selma High School
.
Sewell graduated with honors from Princeton University
and received a scholarship from U.S. News and World Report, among others. A lifelong Democrat
, during the summers while in college, she worked on Capitol Hill for 7th Congressional District congressman Richard Shelby
, as well as for then Alabama Senator Howell Heflin
. She was a leader on the college campus, serving in various roles including class vice-president, class representative to the Student Union, and spearheading the admission office’s effort to set up a Minority Student Recruitment office to recruit and encourage more minority students to attend the University.
Upon graduation from college, Sewell was featured on NBC
’s Today Show as one of the “Top Collegian Women” and was chosen as one of the “Top Ten College Women in America,” by Glamour Magazine
. She received the Afro-American Studies Thesis Prize for her senior thesis entitled, Black Women in Politics: Our Time Has Come which featured a personal interview with Shirley Chisholm
, the first black U.S. Congresswoman. She was awarded a Scholarship and continued her education, receiving a Masters degree with first class Honours from Oxford University. At the age of 25, she published her Masters’ thesis into a book on the election of the first black members of British parliament entitled Black Tribunes: Race and Representation in British Politics.
Sewell attended Harvard Law School
with the help of an NAACP Legal Defense Fund scholarship, graduating in 1992. In law school, she served as an editor of the Civil Rights Civil Liberties Law Review and published an article about the legal struggles in Selma in the Harvard Black Letter Journal entitled, “Selma, Lord, Selma” (vol. 8, Spring 1991).
, Alabama
to the Honorable Chief Judge U.W. Clemon, United States District Court (AL-ND), Alabama’s first black federal judge.
Sewell began her legal career in 1994 at the Wall Street
law firm of Davis Polk & Wardwell
. A securities lawyer for more than a decade, she gained a strong understanding of finance and capital markets. Sewell provided free legal services to the homeless, mentoring girls of color in NYC high schools through the program Dreams into Action and serving on the Alumni Advisory Board of Sponsors of Educational Opportunity, a not-for-profit organization providing education, leadership training and Wall Street
internships to students of color. Through her involvement with SEO, she served as the co-chair of the Community Assistance Fund, which provided $100,000 of aid and assistance to organizations serving communities of color affected by the events of September 11, 2001.
Sewell moved back to Alabama
in 2004 for family and community reasons. She returned to assist her mother in the care of her father.
As the first black female partner in the Birmingham
law firm of Maynard, Cooper, & Gale, P.C., Sewell has distinguished herself as one of the only black public finance lawyers in the State of Alabama. She currently serves as a lawyer helping to raise money for public projects for some of the state’s most underserved public entities, many in the 7th Congressional district, including the City of Selma
, Dallas County Water Authority and Lowndes County Board of Education. A firm believer in the importance of education, she made educational finance a particular focus of her practice representing the historically black colleges in the State of Alabama including Alabama State University
, Tuskegee University
, and Stillman College
as well as other state higher education institutions like Wallace State-Hanceville, Jefferson State Community College
, Chattahoochee Valley Community College
and the State of Alabama’s Public Schools and University Authority.
. She is the first African-American woman to represent Alabama in Congress.
, providing funds to establish the first Domestic Violence Court in Birmingham Municipal Court. Sewell is currently spearheading the effort to get Teach for America
to select Alabama’s Black Belt region as a new site in 2010.
Sewell has served on numerous boards including: St. Vincent’s Foundation (elected Treasurer of the Board and Chair of its Finance Committee), Girl Scouts of Cahaba Council, the Alabama Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society
, the Community Advisory Board for the UAB Minority Health and Research Center, the Governing Board of the Alabama Council on Economic Education, and she is a member of the Corporate Partners Council for Birmingham Art Museum. Her professional affiliations include American Bar Association
, National Bar Association
, Alabama Bar Association, the Birmingham Bar Association and the Magic City Bar Association. She is an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha
sorority and The Links, Incorporated.
Sewell was listed in the magazine Alabama Super Lawyers for 2008 & 2009 and was honored with the 2007 Minority Business “Rising Star” award by the Birmingham Business Journal (BBJ). She was also selected by the BBJ as one of the “Top Birmingham Women” in 2005. She was a member of the class of 2006-2007 Leadership Birmingham, a member of the YWCA
’s Women Leadership MOMENTUM class of 2007-2008. She is currently a member of the class of 2008-2009 Leadership Alabama.
Sewell is a lifetime member of Brown Chapel AME Church
in Selma
and currently worships at Sixth Avenue Baptist Church in Birmingham
. She was also selected to participate on the panel, "From Lincoln to Obama," for the Congressional Black Caucus' Annual Legislative Forum to discuss Southern politics.
Terrycina Andrea "Terri" Sewell (born January 1, 1965) is the U.S. Representative
for . She is a member of the Democratic Party
and the first black woman elected to Congress from Alabama. Sewell is the only Democrat in Alabama's seven-member Congressional delegation.
A native of Selma
, Alabama
, she is a graduate of Princeton University
, Harvard Law School
and Oxford University, and is a public finance attorney.
, Alabama
. Her maternal family offered its homestead to travelers on the 1965 March from Selma to Montgomery
. Sewell spent her childhood summers in Lowndes County, Alabama
with her grandparents. Her grandfather, a Primitive Baptist
Minister and a farmer, instilled in her a love for the land, an appreciation of hard work and the importance of her faith. It was her grandfather and the members of Beulah Primitive Baptist Church that gave her a deep understanding of the Black Belt Region
of Alabama
and its people.
Sewell is the daughter of retired Coach Andrew A. Sewell and former City Councilwoman and retired librarian Nancy Gardner Sewell of Selma
, Alabama
. Nancy Gardner Sewell was the first black woman elected to the Selma City Council. Both parents held careers in the Selma public school system. Sewell became the first black valedictorian of Selma High School
.
Sewell graduated with honors from Princeton University
and received a scholarship from U.S. News and World Report, among others. A lifelong Democrat
, during the summers while in college, she worked on Capitol Hill for 7th Congressional District congressman Richard Shelby
, as well as for then Alabama Senator Howell Heflin
. She was a leader on the college campus, serving in various roles including class vice-president, class representative to the Student Union, and spearheading the admission office’s effort to set up a Minority Student Recruitment office to recruit and encourage more minority students to attend the University.
Upon graduation from college, Sewell was featured on NBC
’s Today Show as one of the “Top Collegian Women” and was chosen as one of the “Top Ten College Women in America,” by Glamour Magazine
. She received the Afro-American Studies Thesis Prize for her senior thesis entitled, Black Women in Politics: Our Time Has Come which featured a personal interview with Shirley Chisholm
, the first black U.S. Congresswoman. She was awarded a Scholarship and continued her education, receiving a Masters degree with first class Honours from Oxford University. At the age of 25, she published her Masters’ thesis into a book on the election of the first black members of British parliament entitled Black Tribunes: Race and Representation in British Politics.
Sewell attended Harvard Law School
with the help of an NAACP Legal Defense Fund scholarship, graduating in 1992. In law school, she served as an editor of the Civil Rights Civil Liberties Law Review and published an article about the legal struggles in Selma in the Harvard Black Letter Journal entitled, “Selma, Lord, Selma” (vol. 8, Spring 1991).
, Alabama
to the Honorable Chief Judge U.W. Clemon, United States District Court (AL-ND), Alabama’s first black federal judge.
Sewell began her legal career in 1994 at the Wall Street
law firm of Davis Polk & Wardwell
. A securities lawyer for more than a decade, she gained a strong understanding of finance and capital markets. Sewell provided free legal services to the homeless, mentoring girls of color in NYC high schools through the program Dreams into Action and serving on the Alumni Advisory Board of Sponsors of Educational Opportunity, a not-for-profit organization providing education, leadership training and Wall Street
internships to students of color. Through her involvement with SEO, she served as the co-chair of the Community Assistance Fund, which provided $100,000 of aid and assistance to organizations serving communities of color affected by the events of September 11, 2001.
Sewell moved back to Alabama
in 2004 for family and community reasons. She returned to assist her mother in the care of her father.
As the first black female partner in the Birmingham
law firm of Maynard, Cooper, & Gale, P.C., Sewell has distinguished herself as one of the only black public finance lawyers in the State of Alabama. She currently serves as a lawyer helping to raise money for public projects for some of the state’s most underserved public entities, many in the 7th Congressional district, including the City of Selma
, Dallas County Water Authority and Lowndes County Board of Education. A firm believer in the importance of education, she made educational finance a particular focus of her practice representing the historically black colleges in the State of Alabama including Alabama State University
, Tuskegee University
, and Stillman College
as well as other state higher education institutions like Wallace State-Hanceville, Jefferson State Community College
, Chattahoochee Valley Community College
and the State of Alabama’s Public Schools and University Authority.
. She is the first African-American woman to represent Alabama in Congress.
, providing funds to establish the first Domestic Violence Court in Birmingham Municipal Court. Sewell is currently spearheading the effort to get Teach for America
to select Alabama’s Black Belt region as a new site in 2010.
Sewell has served on numerous boards including: St. Vincent’s Foundation (elected Treasurer of the Board and Chair of its Finance Committee), Girl Scouts of Cahaba Council, the Alabama Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society
, the Community Advisory Board for the UAB Minority Health and Research Center, the Governing Board of the Alabama Council on Economic Education, and she is a member of the Corporate Partners Council for Birmingham Art Museum. Her professional affiliations include American Bar Association
, National Bar Association
, Alabama Bar Association, the Birmingham Bar Association and the Magic City Bar Association. She is an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha
sorority and The Links, Incorporated.
Sewell was listed in the magazine Alabama Super Lawyers for 2008 & 2009 and was honored with the 2007 Minority Business “Rising Star” award by the Birmingham Business Journal (BBJ). She was also selected by the BBJ as one of the “Top Birmingham Women” in 2005. She was a member of the class of 2006-2007 Leadership Birmingham, a member of the YWCA
’s Women Leadership MOMENTUM class of 2007-2008. She is currently a member of the class of 2008-2009 Leadership Alabama.
Sewell is a lifetime member of Brown Chapel AME Church
in Selma
and currently worships at Sixth Avenue Baptist Church in Birmingham
. She was also selected to participate on the panel, "From Lincoln to Obama," for the Congressional Black Caucus' Annual Legislative Forum to discuss Southern politics.
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
for . She is a member of the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
and the first black woman elected to Congress from Alabama. Sewell is the only Democrat in Alabama's seven-member Congressional delegation.
A native of Selma
Selma, Alabama
Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, Alabama, United States, located on the banks of the Alabama River. The population was 20,512 at the 2000 census....
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, she is a graduate of Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
and Oxford University, and is a public finance attorney.
Early life and education
Sewell was raised in SelmaSelma, Alabama
Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, Alabama, United States, located on the banks of the Alabama River. The population was 20,512 at the 2000 census....
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
. Her maternal family offered its homestead to travelers on the 1965 March from Selma to Montgomery
Selma to Montgomery marches
The Selma to Montgomery marches were three marches in 1965 that marked the political and emotional peak of the American civil rights movement. They grew out of the voting rights movement in Selma, Alabama, launched by local African-Americans who formed the Dallas County Voters League...
. Sewell spent her childhood summers in Lowndes County, Alabama
Lowndes County, Alabama
Lowndes County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. It is named in honor of William Lowndes, a member of the United States Congress from South Carolina. As of the 2010 census, the population was 11,299...
with her grandparents. Her grandfather, a Primitive Baptist
Primitive Baptist
Primitive Baptists, also known as Hard Shell Baptists or Anti-Mission Baptists, are conservative, Calvinist Baptists adhering to beliefs that formed out of the controversy among Baptists in the early 1800’s over the appropriateness of mission boards, bible tract societies, and temperance...
Minister and a farmer, instilled in her a love for the land, an appreciation of hard work and the importance of her faith. It was her grandfather and the members of Beulah Primitive Baptist Church that gave her a deep understanding of the Black Belt Region
Black Belt (region of Alabama)
The Black Belt is a region of the U.S. state of Alabama, and part of the larger Black Belt Region of the Southern United States, which stretches from Texas to Maryland. The term originally referred to the region underlain by a thin layer of rich, black topsoil developed atop the chalk of the Selma...
of Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
and its people.
Sewell is the daughter of retired Coach Andrew A. Sewell and former City Councilwoman and retired librarian Nancy Gardner Sewell of Selma
Selma, Alabama
Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, Alabama, United States, located on the banks of the Alabama River. The population was 20,512 at the 2000 census....
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
. Nancy Gardner Sewell was the first black woman elected to the Selma City Council. Both parents held careers in the Selma public school system. Sewell became the first black valedictorian of Selma High School
Selma High School
Selma High School is a public secondary school in Selma, Alabama, part of the Selma City School System. It is the only public high school in the Selma City Schools System. It is also an eight-year accredited institution with the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. -History:Selma High...
.
Sewell graduated with honors from Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
and received a scholarship from U.S. News and World Report, among others. A lifelong Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, during the summers while in college, she worked on Capitol Hill for 7th Congressional District congressman Richard Shelby
Richard Shelby
Richard Craig Shelby is the senior U.S. Senator from Alabama. First elected to the Senate in 1986, he is the ranking member of the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and was its chairman from 2003 to 2007....
, as well as for then Alabama Senator Howell Heflin
Howell Heflin
Howell Thomas Heflin was a United States Senator from Tuscumbia, Alabama, and a member of the Democratic Party.-Biography:...
. She was a leader on the college campus, serving in various roles including class vice-president, class representative to the Student Union, and spearheading the admission office’s effort to set up a Minority Student Recruitment office to recruit and encourage more minority students to attend the University.
Upon graduation from college, Sewell was featured on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
’s Today Show as one of the “Top Collegian Women” and was chosen as one of the “Top Ten College Women in America,” by Glamour Magazine
Glamour magazine
Glamour magazine means:* Glamour magazine, a U.S. publication aimed at a predominantly female readership* a girlie magazine aimed at a male readership featuring photographs of women...
. She received the Afro-American Studies Thesis Prize for her senior thesis entitled, Black Women in Politics: Our Time Has Come which featured a personal interview with Shirley Chisholm
Shirley Chisholm
Shirley Anita St. Hill Chisholm was an American politician, educator, and author. She was a Congresswoman, representing New York's 12th Congressional District for seven terms from 1969 to 1983. In 1968, she became the first black woman elected to Congress...
, the first black U.S. Congresswoman. She was awarded a Scholarship and continued her education, receiving a Masters degree with first class Honours from Oxford University. At the age of 25, she published her Masters’ thesis into a book on the election of the first black members of British parliament entitled Black Tribunes: Race and Representation in British Politics.
Sewell attended Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
with the help of an NAACP Legal Defense Fund scholarship, graduating in 1992. In law school, she served as an editor of the Civil Rights Civil Liberties Law Review and published an article about the legal struggles in Selma in the Harvard Black Letter Journal entitled, “Selma, Lord, Selma” (vol. 8, Spring 1991).
Legal career
After graduation, Sewell served as a judicial law clerk in BirminghamBirmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
to the Honorable Chief Judge U.W. Clemon, United States District Court (AL-ND), Alabama’s first black federal judge.
Sewell began her legal career in 1994 at the Wall Street
Wall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
law firm of Davis Polk & Wardwell
Davis Polk & Wardwell
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP is an international law firm. The firm employs more than 800 attorneys worldwide and is headquartered in New York City. The firm represents many of the world's largest companies and leading financial institutions, and is best known for its corporate and litigation...
. A securities lawyer for more than a decade, she gained a strong understanding of finance and capital markets. Sewell provided free legal services to the homeless, mentoring girls of color in NYC high schools through the program Dreams into Action and serving on the Alumni Advisory Board of Sponsors of Educational Opportunity, a not-for-profit organization providing education, leadership training and Wall Street
Wall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
internships to students of color. Through her involvement with SEO, she served as the co-chair of the Community Assistance Fund, which provided $100,000 of aid and assistance to organizations serving communities of color affected by the events of September 11, 2001.
Sewell moved back to Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
in 2004 for family and community reasons. She returned to assist her mother in the care of her father.
As the first black female partner in the Birmingham
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
law firm of Maynard, Cooper, & Gale, P.C., Sewell has distinguished herself as one of the only black public finance lawyers in the State of Alabama. She currently serves as a lawyer helping to raise money for public projects for some of the state’s most underserved public entities, many in the 7th Congressional district, including the City of Selma
Selma, Alabama
Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, Alabama, United States, located on the banks of the Alabama River. The population was 20,512 at the 2000 census....
, Dallas County Water Authority and Lowndes County Board of Education. A firm believer in the importance of education, she made educational finance a particular focus of her practice representing the historically black colleges in the State of Alabama including Alabama State University
Alabama State University
Alabama State University, founded 1867, is a historically black university located in Montgomery, Alabama. ASU is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund.- History :...
, Tuskegee University
Tuskegee University
Tuskegee University is a private, historically black university located in Tuskegee, Alabama, United States. It is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund...
, and Stillman College
Stillman College
-Marching Band:The school's marching band is named the Blue Pride Marching Band.In February 2010, Stillman College dedicated the brand new facility, the Thomas Lyle Band Center, named in honor of former band director Thomas Lyle, in conjunction with the Wynn Fine Arts Center.Organizations include:...
as well as other state higher education institutions like Wallace State-Hanceville, Jefferson State Community College
Jefferson State Community College
Jefferson State Community College, more often known as 'Jeff State', is a two-year college in the Alabama Community College System. The current campus locations are the Jefferson Campus in eastern Jefferson County, the Shelby-Hoover Campus in northern Shelby County, the St...
, Chattahoochee Valley Community College
Chattahoochee Valley Community College
Chattahoochee Valley Community College is a community college in Phenix City, Alabama, United States. It serves residents of Russell County and parts of Bullock, Lee, Macon, and Barbour Counties, as well as the Columbus, Georgia metropolitan area...
and the State of Alabama’s Public Schools and University Authority.
2010 election
Sewell ran against Republican nominee Don Chamberlain for the seat of retiring Artur DavisArtur Davis
Artur Genestre Davis is a former member of the United States House of Representatives for , serving from 2003 to 2011 when he was succeeded by Terri Sewell, also a member of the Democratic Party....
. She is the first African-American woman to represent Alabama in Congress.
Committee assignments
- Committee on AgricultureUnited States House Committee on AgricultureThe U.S. House Committee on Agriculture, or Agriculture Committee is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. The House Committee on Agriculture has general jurisdiction over federal agriculture policy and oversight of some federal agencies, and it can recommend funding...
- Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk ManagementUnited States House Agriculture Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk ManagementThe House Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management is a subcommittee within the House Agriculture Committee. The subcommittee oversees program and markets for major commercial crops, such as cotton, cottonseed, wheat, feed grains , soybeans, oilseeds, rice, dry beans, peas, and...
- Subcommittee on Rural Development, Research, Biotechnology, and Foreign Agriculture
- Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management
- Committee on Science, Space and Technology
- Subcommittee on Space and AeronauticsUnited States House Science Subcommittee on Space and AeronauticsThe Science Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics is one of five subcommittees of the United States House Committee on Science and Technology.- Jurisdiction :...
- Subcommittee on Research and Science Education
- Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics
Personal life
Terri Sewell served as the first co-chair of the Women’s Fund “Voices Against Violence” inaugural campaign, which promoted women helping women to overcome domestic violence. The campaign raised more than $70,000 in four months to fight domestic violence in BirminghamBirmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
, providing funds to establish the first Domestic Violence Court in Birmingham Municipal Court. Sewell is currently spearheading the effort to get Teach for America
Teach For America
Teach For America is an American non-profit organization that aims to eliminate educational inequity by enlisting the nation's most promising future leaders to teach for two or more years in low-income communities throughout the United States...
to select Alabama’s Black Belt region as a new site in 2010.
Sewell has served on numerous boards including: St. Vincent’s Foundation (elected Treasurer of the Board and Chair of its Finance Committee), Girl Scouts of Cahaba Council, the Alabama Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society
National Multiple Sclerosis Society
The National Multiple Sclerosis Society, a United States-based non-profit organization, and its network of chapters nationwide promote research, educate, advocate on issues relating to multiple sclerosis, and organize a wide range of programs, including support for the newly diagnosed and those...
, the Community Advisory Board for the UAB Minority Health and Research Center, the Governing Board of the Alabama Council on Economic Education, and she is a member of the Corporate Partners Council for Birmingham Art Museum. Her professional affiliations include American Bar Association
American Bar Association
The American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...
, National Bar Association
National Bar Association
The National Bar Association was established in 1925 as the "Negro Bar Association" after Gertrude Rush, George H. Woodson, S. Joe Brown, James B. Morris, and Charles P. Howard, Sr. were denied membership in the American Bar Association. It represents the interests of African-American attorneys in...
, Alabama Bar Association, the Birmingham Bar Association and the Magic City Bar Association. She is an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha
Alpha Kappa Alpha
Alpha Kappa Alpha is the first Greek-lettered sorority established and incorporated by African American college women. The sorority was founded on January 15, 1908, at Howard University in Washington, D.C., by a group of nine students, led by Ethel Hedgeman Lyle...
sorority and The Links, Incorporated.
Sewell was listed in the magazine Alabama Super Lawyers for 2008 & 2009 and was honored with the 2007 Minority Business “Rising Star” award by the Birmingham Business Journal (BBJ). She was also selected by the BBJ as one of the “Top Birmingham Women” in 2005. She was a member of the class of 2006-2007 Leadership Birmingham, a member of the YWCA
YWCA
The YWCA USA is the United States branch of a women's membership movement that strives to create opportunities for women's growth, leadership and power in order to attain a common vision—to eliminate racism and empower women. The YWCA is a non-profit organization, the first of which was founded in...
’s Women Leadership MOMENTUM class of 2007-2008. She is currently a member of the class of 2008-2009 Leadership Alabama.
Sewell is a lifetime member of Brown Chapel AME Church
Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church (Selma, Alabama)
Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church is a church in Selma, Alabama, United States. This church was a starting point for the Selma to Montgomery marches in 1965 and, as the meeting place and offices of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference during the Selma Movement, played a major role in the events...
in Selma
Selma, Alabama
Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, Alabama, United States, located on the banks of the Alabama River. The population was 20,512 at the 2000 census....
and currently worships at Sixth Avenue Baptist Church in Birmingham
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
. She was also selected to participate on the panel, "From Lincoln to Obama," for the Congressional Black Caucus' Annual Legislative Forum to discuss Southern politics.
External links
- Congresswoman Terri Sewell official U.S. House site
- Terri Sewell for Congress official campaign site
Terrycina Andrea "Terri" Sewell (born January 1, 1965) is the U.S. Representative
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
for . She is a member of the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
and the first black woman elected to Congress from Alabama. Sewell is the only Democrat in Alabama's seven-member Congressional delegation.
A native of Selma
Selma, Alabama
Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, Alabama, United States, located on the banks of the Alabama River. The population was 20,512 at the 2000 census....
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, she is a graduate of Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
and Oxford University, and is a public finance attorney.
Early life and education
Sewell was raised in SelmaSelma, Alabama
Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, Alabama, United States, located on the banks of the Alabama River. The population was 20,512 at the 2000 census....
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
. Her maternal family offered its homestead to travelers on the 1965 March from Selma to Montgomery
Selma to Montgomery marches
The Selma to Montgomery marches were three marches in 1965 that marked the political and emotional peak of the American civil rights movement. They grew out of the voting rights movement in Selma, Alabama, launched by local African-Americans who formed the Dallas County Voters League...
. Sewell spent her childhood summers in Lowndes County, Alabama
Lowndes County, Alabama
Lowndes County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. It is named in honor of William Lowndes, a member of the United States Congress from South Carolina. As of the 2010 census, the population was 11,299...
with her grandparents. Her grandfather, a Primitive Baptist
Primitive Baptist
Primitive Baptists, also known as Hard Shell Baptists or Anti-Mission Baptists, are conservative, Calvinist Baptists adhering to beliefs that formed out of the controversy among Baptists in the early 1800’s over the appropriateness of mission boards, bible tract societies, and temperance...
Minister and a farmer, instilled in her a love for the land, an appreciation of hard work and the importance of her faith. It was her grandfather and the members of Beulah Primitive Baptist Church that gave her a deep understanding of the Black Belt Region
Black Belt (region of Alabama)
The Black Belt is a region of the U.S. state of Alabama, and part of the larger Black Belt Region of the Southern United States, which stretches from Texas to Maryland. The term originally referred to the region underlain by a thin layer of rich, black topsoil developed atop the chalk of the Selma...
of Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
and its people.
Sewell is the daughter of retired Coach Andrew A. Sewell and former City Councilwoman and retired librarian Nancy Gardner Sewell of Selma
Selma, Alabama
Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, Alabama, United States, located on the banks of the Alabama River. The population was 20,512 at the 2000 census....
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
. Nancy Gardner Sewell was the first black woman elected to the Selma City Council. Both parents held careers in the Selma public school system. Sewell became the first black valedictorian of Selma High School
Selma High School
Selma High School is a public secondary school in Selma, Alabama, part of the Selma City School System. It is the only public high school in the Selma City Schools System. It is also an eight-year accredited institution with the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. -History:Selma High...
.
Sewell graduated with honors from Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
and received a scholarship from U.S. News and World Report, among others. A lifelong Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, during the summers while in college, she worked on Capitol Hill for 7th Congressional District congressman Richard Shelby
Richard Shelby
Richard Craig Shelby is the senior U.S. Senator from Alabama. First elected to the Senate in 1986, he is the ranking member of the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and was its chairman from 2003 to 2007....
, as well as for then Alabama Senator Howell Heflin
Howell Heflin
Howell Thomas Heflin was a United States Senator from Tuscumbia, Alabama, and a member of the Democratic Party.-Biography:...
. She was a leader on the college campus, serving in various roles including class vice-president, class representative to the Student Union, and spearheading the admission office’s effort to set up a Minority Student Recruitment office to recruit and encourage more minority students to attend the University.
Upon graduation from college, Sewell was featured on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
’s Today Show as one of the “Top Collegian Women” and was chosen as one of the “Top Ten College Women in America,” by Glamour Magazine
Glamour magazine
Glamour magazine means:* Glamour magazine, a U.S. publication aimed at a predominantly female readership* a girlie magazine aimed at a male readership featuring photographs of women...
. She received the Afro-American Studies Thesis Prize for her senior thesis entitled, Black Women in Politics: Our Time Has Come which featured a personal interview with Shirley Chisholm
Shirley Chisholm
Shirley Anita St. Hill Chisholm was an American politician, educator, and author. She was a Congresswoman, representing New York's 12th Congressional District for seven terms from 1969 to 1983. In 1968, she became the first black woman elected to Congress...
, the first black U.S. Congresswoman. She was awarded a Scholarship and continued her education, receiving a Masters degree with first class Honours from Oxford University. At the age of 25, she published her Masters’ thesis into a book on the election of the first black members of British parliament entitled Black Tribunes: Race and Representation in British Politics.
Sewell attended Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
with the help of an NAACP Legal Defense Fund scholarship, graduating in 1992. In law school, she served as an editor of the Civil Rights Civil Liberties Law Review and published an article about the legal struggles in Selma in the Harvard Black Letter Journal entitled, “Selma, Lord, Selma” (vol. 8, Spring 1991).
Legal career
After graduation, Sewell served as a judicial law clerk in BirminghamBirmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
to the Honorable Chief Judge U.W. Clemon, United States District Court (AL-ND), Alabama’s first black federal judge.
Sewell began her legal career in 1994 at the Wall Street
Wall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
law firm of Davis Polk & Wardwell
Davis Polk & Wardwell
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP is an international law firm. The firm employs more than 800 attorneys worldwide and is headquartered in New York City. The firm represents many of the world's largest companies and leading financial institutions, and is best known for its corporate and litigation...
. A securities lawyer for more than a decade, she gained a strong understanding of finance and capital markets. Sewell provided free legal services to the homeless, mentoring girls of color in NYC high schools through the program Dreams into Action and serving on the Alumni Advisory Board of Sponsors of Educational Opportunity, a not-for-profit organization providing education, leadership training and Wall Street
Wall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
internships to students of color. Through her involvement with SEO, she served as the co-chair of the Community Assistance Fund, which provided $100,000 of aid and assistance to organizations serving communities of color affected by the events of September 11, 2001.
Sewell moved back to Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
in 2004 for family and community reasons. She returned to assist her mother in the care of her father.
As the first black female partner in the Birmingham
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
law firm of Maynard, Cooper, & Gale, P.C., Sewell has distinguished herself as one of the only black public finance lawyers in the State of Alabama. She currently serves as a lawyer helping to raise money for public projects for some of the state’s most underserved public entities, many in the 7th Congressional district, including the City of Selma
Selma, Alabama
Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, Alabama, United States, located on the banks of the Alabama River. The population was 20,512 at the 2000 census....
, Dallas County Water Authority and Lowndes County Board of Education. A firm believer in the importance of education, she made educational finance a particular focus of her practice representing the historically black colleges in the State of Alabama including Alabama State University
Alabama State University
Alabama State University, founded 1867, is a historically black university located in Montgomery, Alabama. ASU is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund.- History :...
, Tuskegee University
Tuskegee University
Tuskegee University is a private, historically black university located in Tuskegee, Alabama, United States. It is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund...
, and Stillman College
Stillman College
-Marching Band:The school's marching band is named the Blue Pride Marching Band.In February 2010, Stillman College dedicated the brand new facility, the Thomas Lyle Band Center, named in honor of former band director Thomas Lyle, in conjunction with the Wynn Fine Arts Center.Organizations include:...
as well as other state higher education institutions like Wallace State-Hanceville, Jefferson State Community College
Jefferson State Community College
Jefferson State Community College, more often known as 'Jeff State', is a two-year college in the Alabama Community College System. The current campus locations are the Jefferson Campus in eastern Jefferson County, the Shelby-Hoover Campus in northern Shelby County, the St...
, Chattahoochee Valley Community College
Chattahoochee Valley Community College
Chattahoochee Valley Community College is a community college in Phenix City, Alabama, United States. It serves residents of Russell County and parts of Bullock, Lee, Macon, and Barbour Counties, as well as the Columbus, Georgia metropolitan area...
and the State of Alabama’s Public Schools and University Authority.
2010 election
Sewell ran against Republican nominee Don Chamberlain for the seat of retiring Artur DavisArtur Davis
Artur Genestre Davis is a former member of the United States House of Representatives for , serving from 2003 to 2011 when he was succeeded by Terri Sewell, also a member of the Democratic Party....
. She is the first African-American woman to represent Alabama in Congress.
Committee assignments
- Committee on AgricultureUnited States House Committee on AgricultureThe U.S. House Committee on Agriculture, or Agriculture Committee is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. The House Committee on Agriculture has general jurisdiction over federal agriculture policy and oversight of some federal agencies, and it can recommend funding...
- Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk ManagementUnited States House Agriculture Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk ManagementThe House Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management is a subcommittee within the House Agriculture Committee. The subcommittee oversees program and markets for major commercial crops, such as cotton, cottonseed, wheat, feed grains , soybeans, oilseeds, rice, dry beans, peas, and...
- Subcommittee on Rural Development, Research, Biotechnology, and Foreign Agriculture
- Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management
- Committee on Science, Space and Technology
- Subcommittee on Space and AeronauticsUnited States House Science Subcommittee on Space and AeronauticsThe Science Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics is one of five subcommittees of the United States House Committee on Science and Technology.- Jurisdiction :...
- Subcommittee on Research and Science Education
- Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics
Personal life
Terri Sewell served as the first co-chair of the Women’s Fund “Voices Against Violence” inaugural campaign, which promoted women helping women to overcome domestic violence. The campaign raised more than $70,000 in four months to fight domestic violence in BirminghamBirmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
, providing funds to establish the first Domestic Violence Court in Birmingham Municipal Court. Sewell is currently spearheading the effort to get Teach for America
Teach For America
Teach For America is an American non-profit organization that aims to eliminate educational inequity by enlisting the nation's most promising future leaders to teach for two or more years in low-income communities throughout the United States...
to select Alabama’s Black Belt region as a new site in 2010.
Sewell has served on numerous boards including: St. Vincent’s Foundation (elected Treasurer of the Board and Chair of its Finance Committee), Girl Scouts of Cahaba Council, the Alabama Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society
National Multiple Sclerosis Society
The National Multiple Sclerosis Society, a United States-based non-profit organization, and its network of chapters nationwide promote research, educate, advocate on issues relating to multiple sclerosis, and organize a wide range of programs, including support for the newly diagnosed and those...
, the Community Advisory Board for the UAB Minority Health and Research Center, the Governing Board of the Alabama Council on Economic Education, and she is a member of the Corporate Partners Council for Birmingham Art Museum. Her professional affiliations include American Bar Association
American Bar Association
The American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...
, National Bar Association
National Bar Association
The National Bar Association was established in 1925 as the "Negro Bar Association" after Gertrude Rush, George H. Woodson, S. Joe Brown, James B. Morris, and Charles P. Howard, Sr. were denied membership in the American Bar Association. It represents the interests of African-American attorneys in...
, Alabama Bar Association, the Birmingham Bar Association and the Magic City Bar Association. She is an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha
Alpha Kappa Alpha
Alpha Kappa Alpha is the first Greek-lettered sorority established and incorporated by African American college women. The sorority was founded on January 15, 1908, at Howard University in Washington, D.C., by a group of nine students, led by Ethel Hedgeman Lyle...
sorority and The Links, Incorporated.
Sewell was listed in the magazine Alabama Super Lawyers for 2008 & 2009 and was honored with the 2007 Minority Business “Rising Star” award by the Birmingham Business Journal (BBJ). She was also selected by the BBJ as one of the “Top Birmingham Women” in 2005. She was a member of the class of 2006-2007 Leadership Birmingham, a member of the YWCA
YWCA
The YWCA USA is the United States branch of a women's membership movement that strives to create opportunities for women's growth, leadership and power in order to attain a common vision—to eliminate racism and empower women. The YWCA is a non-profit organization, the first of which was founded in...
’s Women Leadership MOMENTUM class of 2007-2008. She is currently a member of the class of 2008-2009 Leadership Alabama.
Sewell is a lifetime member of Brown Chapel AME Church
Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church (Selma, Alabama)
Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church is a church in Selma, Alabama, United States. This church was a starting point for the Selma to Montgomery marches in 1965 and, as the meeting place and offices of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference during the Selma Movement, played a major role in the events...
in Selma
Selma, Alabama
Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, Alabama, United States, located on the banks of the Alabama River. The population was 20,512 at the 2000 census....
and currently worships at Sixth Avenue Baptist Church in Birmingham
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
. She was also selected to participate on the panel, "From Lincoln to Obama," for the Congressional Black Caucus' Annual Legislative Forum to discuss Southern politics.
External links
- Congresswoman Terri Sewell official U.S. House site
- Terri Sewell for Congress official campaign site
Terrycina Andrea "Terri" Sewell (born January 1, 1965) is the U.S. Representative
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
for . She is a member of the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
and the first black woman elected to Congress from Alabama. Sewell is the only Democrat in Alabama's seven-member Congressional delegation.
A native of Selma
Selma, Alabama
Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, Alabama, United States, located on the banks of the Alabama River. The population was 20,512 at the 2000 census....
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, she is a graduate of Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
and Oxford University, and is a public finance attorney.
Early life and education
Sewell was raised in SelmaSelma, Alabama
Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, Alabama, United States, located on the banks of the Alabama River. The population was 20,512 at the 2000 census....
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
. Her maternal family offered its homestead to travelers on the 1965 March from Selma to Montgomery
Selma to Montgomery marches
The Selma to Montgomery marches were three marches in 1965 that marked the political and emotional peak of the American civil rights movement. They grew out of the voting rights movement in Selma, Alabama, launched by local African-Americans who formed the Dallas County Voters League...
. Sewell spent her childhood summers in Lowndes County, Alabama
Lowndes County, Alabama
Lowndes County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. It is named in honor of William Lowndes, a member of the United States Congress from South Carolina. As of the 2010 census, the population was 11,299...
with her grandparents. Her grandfather, a Primitive Baptist
Primitive Baptist
Primitive Baptists, also known as Hard Shell Baptists or Anti-Mission Baptists, are conservative, Calvinist Baptists adhering to beliefs that formed out of the controversy among Baptists in the early 1800’s over the appropriateness of mission boards, bible tract societies, and temperance...
Minister and a farmer, instilled in her a love for the land, an appreciation of hard work and the importance of her faith. It was her grandfather and the members of Beulah Primitive Baptist Church that gave her a deep understanding of the Black Belt Region
Black Belt (region of Alabama)
The Black Belt is a region of the U.S. state of Alabama, and part of the larger Black Belt Region of the Southern United States, which stretches from Texas to Maryland. The term originally referred to the region underlain by a thin layer of rich, black topsoil developed atop the chalk of the Selma...
of Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
and its people.
Sewell is the daughter of retired Coach Andrew A. Sewell and former City Councilwoman and retired librarian Nancy Gardner Sewell of Selma
Selma, Alabama
Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, Alabama, United States, located on the banks of the Alabama River. The population was 20,512 at the 2000 census....
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
. Nancy Gardner Sewell was the first black woman elected to the Selma City Council. Both parents held careers in the Selma public school system. Sewell became the first black valedictorian of Selma High School
Selma High School
Selma High School is a public secondary school in Selma, Alabama, part of the Selma City School System. It is the only public high school in the Selma City Schools System. It is also an eight-year accredited institution with the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. -History:Selma High...
.
Sewell graduated with honors from Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
and received a scholarship from U.S. News and World Report, among others. A lifelong Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, during the summers while in college, she worked on Capitol Hill for 7th Congressional District congressman Richard Shelby
Richard Shelby
Richard Craig Shelby is the senior U.S. Senator from Alabama. First elected to the Senate in 1986, he is the ranking member of the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and was its chairman from 2003 to 2007....
, as well as for then Alabama Senator Howell Heflin
Howell Heflin
Howell Thomas Heflin was a United States Senator from Tuscumbia, Alabama, and a member of the Democratic Party.-Biography:...
. She was a leader on the college campus, serving in various roles including class vice-president, class representative to the Student Union, and spearheading the admission office’s effort to set up a Minority Student Recruitment office to recruit and encourage more minority students to attend the University.
Upon graduation from college, Sewell was featured on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
’s Today Show as one of the “Top Collegian Women” and was chosen as one of the “Top Ten College Women in America,” by Glamour Magazine
Glamour magazine
Glamour magazine means:* Glamour magazine, a U.S. publication aimed at a predominantly female readership* a girlie magazine aimed at a male readership featuring photographs of women...
. She received the Afro-American Studies Thesis Prize for her senior thesis entitled, Black Women in Politics: Our Time Has Come which featured a personal interview with Shirley Chisholm
Shirley Chisholm
Shirley Anita St. Hill Chisholm was an American politician, educator, and author. She was a Congresswoman, representing New York's 12th Congressional District for seven terms from 1969 to 1983. In 1968, she became the first black woman elected to Congress...
, the first black U.S. Congresswoman. She was awarded a Scholarship and continued her education, receiving a Masters degree with first class Honours from Oxford University. At the age of 25, she published her Masters’ thesis into a book on the election of the first black members of British parliament entitled Black Tribunes: Race and Representation in British Politics.
Sewell attended Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
with the help of an NAACP Legal Defense Fund scholarship, graduating in 1992. In law school, she served as an editor of the Civil Rights Civil Liberties Law Review and published an article about the legal struggles in Selma in the Harvard Black Letter Journal entitled, “Selma, Lord, Selma” (vol. 8, Spring 1991).
Legal career
After graduation, Sewell served as a judicial law clerk in BirminghamBirmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
to the Honorable Chief Judge U.W. Clemon, United States District Court (AL-ND), Alabama’s first black federal judge.
Sewell began her legal career in 1994 at the Wall Street
Wall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
law firm of Davis Polk & Wardwell
Davis Polk & Wardwell
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP is an international law firm. The firm employs more than 800 attorneys worldwide and is headquartered in New York City. The firm represents many of the world's largest companies and leading financial institutions, and is best known for its corporate and litigation...
. A securities lawyer for more than a decade, she gained a strong understanding of finance and capital markets. Sewell provided free legal services to the homeless, mentoring girls of color in NYC high schools through the program Dreams into Action and serving on the Alumni Advisory Board of Sponsors of Educational Opportunity, a not-for-profit organization providing education, leadership training and Wall Street
Wall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
internships to students of color. Through her involvement with SEO, she served as the co-chair of the Community Assistance Fund, which provided $100,000 of aid and assistance to organizations serving communities of color affected by the events of September 11, 2001.
Sewell moved back to Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
in 2004 for family and community reasons. She returned to assist her mother in the care of her father.
As the first black female partner in the Birmingham
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
law firm of Maynard, Cooper, & Gale, P.C., Sewell has distinguished herself as one of the only black public finance lawyers in the State of Alabama. She currently serves as a lawyer helping to raise money for public projects for some of the state’s most underserved public entities, many in the 7th Congressional district, including the City of Selma
Selma, Alabama
Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, Alabama, United States, located on the banks of the Alabama River. The population was 20,512 at the 2000 census....
, Dallas County Water Authority and Lowndes County Board of Education. A firm believer in the importance of education, she made educational finance a particular focus of her practice representing the historically black colleges in the State of Alabama including Alabama State University
Alabama State University
Alabama State University, founded 1867, is a historically black university located in Montgomery, Alabama. ASU is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund.- History :...
, Tuskegee University
Tuskegee University
Tuskegee University is a private, historically black university located in Tuskegee, Alabama, United States. It is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund...
, and Stillman College
Stillman College
-Marching Band:The school's marching band is named the Blue Pride Marching Band.In February 2010, Stillman College dedicated the brand new facility, the Thomas Lyle Band Center, named in honor of former band director Thomas Lyle, in conjunction with the Wynn Fine Arts Center.Organizations include:...
as well as other state higher education institutions like Wallace State-Hanceville, Jefferson State Community College
Jefferson State Community College
Jefferson State Community College, more often known as 'Jeff State', is a two-year college in the Alabama Community College System. The current campus locations are the Jefferson Campus in eastern Jefferson County, the Shelby-Hoover Campus in northern Shelby County, the St...
, Chattahoochee Valley Community College
Chattahoochee Valley Community College
Chattahoochee Valley Community College is a community college in Phenix City, Alabama, United States. It serves residents of Russell County and parts of Bullock, Lee, Macon, and Barbour Counties, as well as the Columbus, Georgia metropolitan area...
and the State of Alabama’s Public Schools and University Authority.
2010 election
Sewell ran against Republican nominee Don Chamberlain for the seat of retiring Artur DavisArtur Davis
Artur Genestre Davis is a former member of the United States House of Representatives for , serving from 2003 to 2011 when he was succeeded by Terri Sewell, also a member of the Democratic Party....
. She is the first African-American woman to represent Alabama in Congress.
Committee assignments
- Committee on AgricultureUnited States House Committee on AgricultureThe U.S. House Committee on Agriculture, or Agriculture Committee is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. The House Committee on Agriculture has general jurisdiction over federal agriculture policy and oversight of some federal agencies, and it can recommend funding...
- Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk ManagementUnited States House Agriculture Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk ManagementThe House Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management is a subcommittee within the House Agriculture Committee. The subcommittee oversees program and markets for major commercial crops, such as cotton, cottonseed, wheat, feed grains , soybeans, oilseeds, rice, dry beans, peas, and...
- Subcommittee on Rural Development, Research, Biotechnology, and Foreign Agriculture
- Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management
- Committee on Science, Space and Technology
- Subcommittee on Space and AeronauticsUnited States House Science Subcommittee on Space and AeronauticsThe Science Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics is one of five subcommittees of the United States House Committee on Science and Technology.- Jurisdiction :...
- Subcommittee on Research and Science Education
- Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics
Personal life
Terri Sewell served as the first co-chair of the Women’s Fund “Voices Against Violence” inaugural campaign, which promoted women helping women to overcome domestic violence. The campaign raised more than $70,000 in four months to fight domestic violence in BirminghamBirmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
, providing funds to establish the first Domestic Violence Court in Birmingham Municipal Court. Sewell is currently spearheading the effort to get Teach for America
Teach For America
Teach For America is an American non-profit organization that aims to eliminate educational inequity by enlisting the nation's most promising future leaders to teach for two or more years in low-income communities throughout the United States...
to select Alabama’s Black Belt region as a new site in 2010.
Sewell has served on numerous boards including: St. Vincent’s Foundation (elected Treasurer of the Board and Chair of its Finance Committee), Girl Scouts of Cahaba Council, the Alabama Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society
National Multiple Sclerosis Society
The National Multiple Sclerosis Society, a United States-based non-profit organization, and its network of chapters nationwide promote research, educate, advocate on issues relating to multiple sclerosis, and organize a wide range of programs, including support for the newly diagnosed and those...
, the Community Advisory Board for the UAB Minority Health and Research Center, the Governing Board of the Alabama Council on Economic Education, and she is a member of the Corporate Partners Council for Birmingham Art Museum. Her professional affiliations include American Bar Association
American Bar Association
The American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...
, National Bar Association
National Bar Association
The National Bar Association was established in 1925 as the "Negro Bar Association" after Gertrude Rush, George H. Woodson, S. Joe Brown, James B. Morris, and Charles P. Howard, Sr. were denied membership in the American Bar Association. It represents the interests of African-American attorneys in...
, Alabama Bar Association, the Birmingham Bar Association and the Magic City Bar Association. She is an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha
Alpha Kappa Alpha
Alpha Kappa Alpha is the first Greek-lettered sorority established and incorporated by African American college women. The sorority was founded on January 15, 1908, at Howard University in Washington, D.C., by a group of nine students, led by Ethel Hedgeman Lyle...
sorority and The Links, Incorporated.
Sewell was listed in the magazine Alabama Super Lawyers for 2008 & 2009 and was honored with the 2007 Minority Business “Rising Star” award by the Birmingham Business Journal (BBJ). She was also selected by the BBJ as one of the “Top Birmingham Women” in 2005. She was a member of the class of 2006-2007 Leadership Birmingham, a member of the YWCA
YWCA
The YWCA USA is the United States branch of a women's membership movement that strives to create opportunities for women's growth, leadership and power in order to attain a common vision—to eliminate racism and empower women. The YWCA is a non-profit organization, the first of which was founded in...
’s Women Leadership MOMENTUM class of 2007-2008. She is currently a member of the class of 2008-2009 Leadership Alabama.
Sewell is a lifetime member of Brown Chapel AME Church
Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church (Selma, Alabama)
Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church is a church in Selma, Alabama, United States. This church was a starting point for the Selma to Montgomery marches in 1965 and, as the meeting place and offices of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference during the Selma Movement, played a major role in the events...
in Selma
Selma, Alabama
Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, Alabama, United States, located on the banks of the Alabama River. The population was 20,512 at the 2000 census....
and currently worships at Sixth Avenue Baptist Church in Birmingham
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
. She was also selected to participate on the panel, "From Lincoln to Obama," for the Congressional Black Caucus' Annual Legislative Forum to discuss Southern politics.
External links
- Congresswoman Terri Sewell official U.S. House site
- Terri Sewell for Congress official campaign site