Dianne Wilkerson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Dianne Wilkerson
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Wilkerson in 2008
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| Member of the Massachusetts Senate from the 2nd Suffolk district |
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| In office 1993–2008 |
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| Preceded by | Bill Owens |
| Succeeded by | Sonia Chang-Díaz |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 2, 1955 Pine Bluff, Arkansas |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Residence | Boston, Massachusetts |
| Alma mater | American International College, Boston College |
| Occupation | attorney |
Dianne Wilkerson (born May 2, 1955) is a former Democratic member of the Massachusetts Senate, representing the 2nd Suffolk District from 1993 to 2008 as the first African American female to serve in the chamber.
On October 28, 2008, she was arrested on public corruption charges by the FBI for accepting bribes totaling $23,500. She formally resigned on November 19, 2008. On June 3, 2010, she pleaded guilty to eight felony counts of attempted extortion. She was disbarred from the practice of law in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts on November 24, 2010, and served a federal prison sentence from 2011 to 2013.
Education
Dianne Wilkerson graduated from High School of Commerce in Springfield. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in public administration from American International College in 1978, and a juris doctor from Boston College Law School in 1981. After graduating from law school and passing the bar she served as a civil rights lawyer and was active in the National Lawyers Guild.
Political career
In 1993, she became the first African American woman to serve in the Massachusetts Senate, winning election in 1992 after defeating incumbent Bill Owens in the Democratic primary.
When in office, Wilkerson's Senatorial District included the Back Bay, Beacon Hill, Chinatown, Jamaica Plain, Mission Hill, Roxbury, South End, and some parts of the Fenway, Dorchester, and Mattapan.
She lost the September 2008 Democratic primary to Sonia Chang-Díaz, and on October 31, 2008, announced that she was ending her write-in campaign to seek re-election in the November 4, 2008, election. On November 19, 2008, Wilkerson formally resigned from the Massachusetts state Senate.
In April 2022, following Sonia Chang-Diaz's decision not to run for re-election, she filed papers for another Senate run. She lost the Democratic primary to state Representative Liz Miranda, coming in third with 21% of the vote.
Legislative appointments
As State Senator, she was appointed to the following: the Commission to Eliminate Racial & Ethnic Healthcare Disparities, the Hynes Convention Center & Boston Common Parking Garage Legislative Commission, the Special Commission on Non-Group and Small Group Health Insurance, Co-Chair; and the Massachusetts Workforce Investment Board.
