[This program originally aired May 5, 2011. We rebroadcast it August 1, 2024 when Kamala Harris became the first Black woman nominated candidate for President. We are airing again today to honor the memory of our hero, Avel Gordly, the first Black woman to win a seat in the Oregon legislature.]
When President Joe Biden withdrew from the 2024 presidential race and endorsed his vice president to succeed him, the country's attention focussed on Kamala Harris. The notion of this dynamic, Afro-Asian woman (mother emigrated from India, father from Jamaica) has breathed new life into the campaign.
But, Kamala Harris stands on the shoulders of the many fearless women who preceded her in the political arena. Nationally and, equally important, locally, these women have penetrated the old boys network that for so long controlled politics.
Today we want to remind you of our local hero, the first Black woman to win a seat in the Oregon legislature, a true servant leader, both in and out of office: Avel Louise Gordly.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Remembering the Power of Words is the inaugural volume in the Women and Politics in the Pacific Northwest Series, and recounts the personal and professional journey of Ms. Gordly. OSU Press describes the book as:
"A brave and honest telling of Gordly’s life. She shares the challenges and struggles she faced growing up black in Portland in the 1950s and 1960s, as well as her determination to attend college, the dedication to activism that took her from Portland to Africa, and her eventual decision to run for a seat in the state legislature.
That words have power is a constant undercurrent in Gordly’s account and a truth she learned early in life.
Important as a biographical account of one significant Oregonian’s story, the book also contributes “broader narratives touching on Black history (and Oregon’s place within it), and most particularly the politics associated with being an African American woman,” according to series editor Melody Rose.