Celebrating Black History Month: Harry A. Cole, first African-American state senator for Maryland

Harry Cole, born January 21, 1921 in Washington, DC, was the first African-American ever elected to the Maryland Senate and the first African-American to serve on the Maryland Court of Appeals.  He was valedictorian of his graduating class from Morgan State College with a Bachelor of Arts.  After serving in the U.S. Army, he studied law at the University of Maryland and was admitted to the Maryland Bar in 1949.

He was elected to the Maryland State Senate in 1955 and served until 1966. 

He passed away in Baltimore February 14, 1999.

Celebrating Black History Month: Verda Welcome, first African-American woman elected to a state senate

Verda Mae Freeman Welcome was born March 18, 1907 in North Carolina and in 1962, became the first black woman in the U.S. to be elected to a senate seat.  She moved to Baltimore in 1929 and graduated from Coppin State Teachers College in 1932.  She received her BS from Morgan State College in 1939 and her Master's Degree from New York University in 1943.  She taught school in Baltimore from 1934 and 1945.

She was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates to represent the Fourth District of Baltimore (the first black woman to hold that position) for three years.  In 1962, she was elected to the state senate. 

She worked toward eliminating racial segregation laws, in place since slavery was legal. 

She passed away in April 1990 in Baltimore.