# Verda Welcome
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{{Short description|American politician (1907–1990)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Verda Welcome
| image = Verda_Freeman_Welcome.jpg
| state_senate = Maryland
| term_start = January 2, 1963
| term_end = January 12, 1983
| predecessor = J. Alvin Jones
| successor = Troy Brailey
| constituency = Fourth District of Baltimore City (1962–1974)
[40th district](/source/Maryland_Legislative_District_40) (1974–1982)
| office1 = Member of the [Maryland House of Delegates](/source/Maryland_House_of_Delegates) from the Fourth District of [Baltimore City](/source/Baltimore_City)
| term_start1 = January 7, 1959
| term_end1 = January 2, 1963
| predecessor1 = [Emory Cole](/source/Emory_Cole)
[Truly Hatchett](/source/Truly_Hatchett)
Morton C. Pollack
| successor1 = Joseph Abramson
Harvey A. Epstein
[Clarence Mitchell III](/source/Clarence_Mitchell_III)
Ernest D. Young
| birth_name = Verda Mae Freeman
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1907|3|18}}
| birth_place = [Lake Lure, North Carolina](/source/Lake_Lure%2C_North_Carolina), U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1990|4|22|1907|3|18}}
| death_place = [Baltimore](/source/Baltimore), Maryland, U.S.
| party = [Democratic](/source/Democratic_Party_(United_States))
| spouse = {{marriage|Henry C. Welcome|1935}}
| children = 1
| education = [Morgan State College](/source/Morgan_State_University) ([BA](/source/Bachelor_of_Arts))
[New York University](/source/New_York_University) ([MA](/source/Master_of_Arts))
| occupation =
}}
'''Verda Mae Freeman Welcome''' (18 March 1907 – 22 April 1990) was an American teacher, civil rights leader, and [Maryland](/source/Maryland) [state senator](/source/state_senator). Welcome was the second black woman to be elected to a state senate in the U.S. ([Cora Mae Brown](/source/Cora_Brown) was the first in 1952). She spent 25 years in the Maryland legislature and worked to pass legislation which enforced stricter employment regulations and discouraged racial discrimination.
==Early life and education==
She was one of fifteen children of farmers John and Docia Freeman. Following the death of her mother and faced with a limited amount of money for education, Welcome worked during the day and attended school in the evening. Because of the strain on her, she was encouraged to drop out of school, which she refused to do, and came to Baltimore in 1929 instead. Welcome continued her education in Baltimore and graduated from Coppin Normal School and Morgan State College. She later earned her Master of Arts degree from New York University and taught in the Baltimore City public Schools for eleven years. She was awarded honorary degrees from Howard University and the University of Maryland. She married Dr. Henry C. Welcome[{{Cite web|url=https://afro.com/the-lady-senator/|title = The Lady Senator|date = 23 March 2017}}] in 1935. She was a member of [Delta Sigma Theta](/source/Delta_Sigma_Theta) sorority.
==Politics==
In 1958, Welcome was elected to the [Maryland House of Delegates](/source/Maryland_House_of_Delegates) to represent the Fourth District of Baltimore City, becoming the first black woman to hold the position, which she held for three years.[{{cite news|author=Derek Powell|date=3 November 2005|title=Verda Freeman Welcome: A Prominent Figure In Black History|work=The Spokesman (The Independent Newspaper of Morgan State University)|url=http://media.www.msuspokesman.com/media/storage/paper270/news/2005/03/11/Alumni/Verda.Freeman.Welcome.A.Prominent.Figure.In.Black.History-893138.shtml}}] Elected to the [Maryland State Senate](/source/Maryland_State_Senate) in 1962, she was the second black woman in the United States to be elected to hold a state senate seat.[{{cite news|title=Verda Freeman Welcome|author=Paul McCardell|work=[The Baltimore Sun](/source/The_Baltimore_Sun)|url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/custom/unisun/bal-blackhistory-welcome,0,3529236.story}}][{{cite book |author=Smith, Jessie Carney |title=Notable Black American women |publisher=Gale Research |location=Detroit |year=1996 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/notableblackamer00jess/page/698 698] |isbn=0-8103-9177-5 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/notableblackamer00jess }}][{{cite web|url=http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/educ/exhibits/womenshall/html/welcome.html|title=Maryland Women's Hall of Fame - Verda Freeman Welcome|access-date=29 March 2009|publisher=Maryland State Archives|author=Maryland Commission for Women}}] In April 1964, Welcome survived an assassination attempt; two men were convicted.[{{cite news|title=Verda F. Welcome, 83, A Maryland Legislator|work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)|date=25 April 1990|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/04/25/obituaries/verda-f-welcome-83-a-maryland-legislator.html}}] In 1967, Welcome worked towards eliminating Maryland's racial segregation laws which had been in place since slavery was legal.