Verda Welcome

Verda Mae Freeman Welcome (18 March 1907 – 22 April 1990) was an American teacher, civil rights leader, and Maryland state senator.

She spent 25 years in the Maryland legislature and worked to pass legislation which enforced stricter employment regulations and discouraged racial discrimination.

Born as Verda Mae Freeman, one of sixteen children of John Nuborn and Ella Theodocia Freeman, Verda Welcome was born on a small farm in Lake Lure (previously known as Uree), North Carolina.

In 1958, Welcome was elected to the 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.

[1][6] In 1967, Welcome worked towards eliminating Maryland's racial segregation laws which had been in place since slavery was legal.