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Barbara-Rose Collins | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theDetroit City Council | |
| In office 2001–2009 | |
| In office 1982–1991 | |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromMichigan | |
| In office January 3, 1991 – January 3, 1997 | |
| Preceded by | George W. Crockett, Jr. |
| Succeeded by | Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick |
| Constituency | 13th district (1991–93) 15th district (1993–97) |
| Member of theMichigan House of Representatives from the21st district | |
| In office 1975–1981 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Barbara-Rose Richardson (1939-04-13)April 13, 1939 Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
| Died | November 4, 2021(2021-11-04) (aged 82) Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | Wayne State University (BA) |
Barbara-Rose Collins (néeRichardson; April 13, 1939 – November 4, 2021) was an Americanpolitician from theU.S. state ofMichigan and the first black woman from Michigan to be elected to Congress.[1]
Collins was born as Barbara-Rose Richardson inDetroit, Michigan, the daughter of Lou Versa (Jones) and Lamar Nathaniel Richardson, a Ford Motor Co. employee.[2] She is an alumnus ofCass Technical High School in Detroit, Michigan where she attended in 1957.[3] She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Anthropology fromWayne State University.[3]
In 1960, Barbara-Rose Collins became divorced and a single mom. Barbara-Rose Collins worked multiple jobs and had public assistance until beginning a position as a Business Manager atWayne State University. She worked as a Business Manager for the Physics department at Wayne State University for 9 years.[3]
After hearing a speech by Black activistStokely Carmichael at Detroit'sShrine of the Black Madonna Church in the late 1960s, Barbara-Rose Collins became inspired by the speech to pursue a career in activism to uplift communities. Later, she was supported by the pastor of the Shrine Church to pursue a career in state legislature. She ran for a seat in 1974.[3]
During her early campaign days in 1974, Collins hyphenated her first and middle names, changing from Barbara Rose to Barbara-Rose, to distinguish herself from other candidates.[3]
Collins was a member of the Detroit Public School Board from 1971 to 1973, theMichigan House of Representatives for the21st district from 1975 to 1981, and theDetroit City Council from 1982 to 1991. During her time on the Detroit Public School Board, she earned recognition for her "school safety and academic achievement."[3]
In 1988, she lost a primary election to the incumbentU.S. representative for what was thenMichigan's 13th congressional district,George W. Crockett, Jr. When he retired, she won the seat,[4] taking 34 percent of the vote in a crowded eight-way Democratic primary. This wastantamount to election in this heavily Democratic, black-majority district. She won handily in November and was reelected three more times, each time garnering over 80 percent of the vote. Her district was renumbered as the15th district after the 1990 census.
Collins was a sponsor of several bills that passed into law, including the Food Dating Bill, the Sex Education Bill, and the Pregnancy Insurance Bill. She also introduced the Unrenumerated Work Act in 1991, 1993, and 1994.[5] This bill would have required theBureau of Labor Statistics to set value on unwaged work such as housework, care work, agricultural work, volunteer work, and work in a family business, and include that value in theGross National Product of the United States. This measure had been called for in the Forward Looking Strategies resolution passed at theWorld Conference on Women, 1985.[6] Collins's bill was endorsed by theCongressional Caucus for Women's Issues and by 1993 had 90 co-sponsors; however, it failed to pass.[7]
Collins was the subject of aUnited States House Committee on Ethics inquiry in 1995, under suspicion of 11 instances of misuse of funds. In 1996, after she lost the Democratic primary for re-election toCarolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, the inquiry was dropped.[8] After five years out of politics, Collins returned to the Detroit City Council in 2001. She was re-elected in 2005 and retired in 2009.[9][10]
In 1996, Collins was the first congressperson to introduce legislation to makeJuneteenth a federal holiday. According to the ACLU of Michigan, "Michigan's own Congresswoman Barbara Rose Collins introduced a bill in 1996 that petitioned the U.S. government to make Juneteenth a federal holiday. In her congressional remarks, she stated, "the dehumanizing and degrading conditions of slavery were unnecessarily prolonged for hundreds of thousands of black men, women, and children, because our American government failed to communicate the truth" (2017). Juneteenth finally became afederal holiday in 2021.[11]
Collins died fromCOVID-19 at aDetroit hospital,[12] on November 4, 2021, at age 82, during theCOVID-19 pandemic in Michigan. According to her son, she had been vaccinated with theJanssen COVID-19 vaccine.[13] According to one of her grandsons, Collins had health issues that contributed to her COVID-19 death despite her vaccination status.[12]
Collins was the aunt of actor and comedianSam Richardson.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromMichigan's 13th congressional district 1991–1993 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromMichigan's 15th congressional district 1993–1997 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
