Saundra Graham (September 5, 1941[1][2] – June 23, 2023[3]) was an American independent politician from Cambridge, Massachusetts.[4] She served as a Cambridge City Councilor from 1971 to 1989,[5] and represented the 4th Middlesex district in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1977 to 1988.[4]
Saundra Graham | |
|---|---|
.png) Graham circa 1977 | |
| Member of the Cambridge City Council | |
| In office 1971–1989 | |
| Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from the 4th Middlesex district | |
| In office 1977–1988 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 5, 1941 |
| Died | June 23, 2023 (aged 81) |
In 1968, Graham became a member of the Cambridge Community Center’s board of directors. Two years later, she was chosen as president of the Riverside Planning Team, a group of housing activists in the Cambridge neighborhood of Riverside.[6] In 1970, the Riverside Planning Team interrupted Harvard's commencement ceremony, and Graham stormed the stage and demanded that the university dedicate land in Riverside which had been set aside for a planned dorm to low-income housing.[7][8] Members of the Harvard Corporation met with Graham and the activists, and after several hours they reached an agreement in which the university would build low-income housing on a different site. The following year, Graham was elected the first African-American woman on the Cambridge City Council, and she went on to become the first Black woman to represent Cambridge in the state legislature.[7][8]
Graham died on June 23, 2023, at the age of 81.[9]
References
edit- ^ [1]
- ^ https://cambridgeblackhistoryproject.org/project/saundra-graham/
- ^ https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/bostonglobe/name/saundra-graham-obituary?id=52398590
- ^ a b "History of Women in the Massachusetts Legislature 1923 – 2015" (PDF). Massachusetts Caucus of Women Legislators. 2015. Retrieved July 6, 2021.
- ^ Hayden, Robert C. (1991). African-Americans in Boston: More than 350 Years (2nd ed.). Boston, Massachusetts: Trustees of the Public Library of the City of Boston. p. 99. ISBN 0-89073-083-0.
- ^ "Self-Guided Tour: Women Activists of Riverside 50 Years After Suffrage | History Cambridge". historycambridge.org. Retrieved 2021-09-30.
- ^ a b Gell, Jeffrey (June 6, 1995). "Woman Storms, Takes Over Ceremony". Harvard Crimson.
- ^ a b Lear, Henry; Wall-Feng, Bea (October 6, 2022). "Treeland: The High-Rises Harvard Never Built". Harvard Crimson.
- ^ Saundra Graham, dies at 81; legislator and leader who stormed Harvard stage against displacement
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