Sewell, Terri A., 1965-

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Terrycina Andrea "Terri" Sewell (born January 1, 1965) is an American lawyer and politician. She is a member of the Democratic Party. She has served as the U.S. Representative since 2011 for Alabama's 7th congressional district, which includes most of the Black Belt, as well as most of the predominantly Black portions of Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, and Montgomery.

Born in Huntsville, Alabama and raised in Selma, Sewell was the first black valedictorian of Selma High School. She attended Princeton University, interning for Congressman Richard Shelby and Senator Howell Heflin before graduating in 1986. She then attended Oxford University where she earned an MA in political science in 1988 and a JD from Harvard Law School in 1992. She served as a judicial law clerk in Birmingham before moving to New York City where she worked at Davis Polk & Wardwell. Returning to Alabama in 2004, Sewell worked for Maynard, Cooper & Gale PC where she was the first black woman partner in the firm. In 2010, Sewell entered the Democratic primary to succeed outgoing Democratic Congressman Artur Davis. Sewell won the primary and general elections and has been reelected five times since.

Sewell is the first African-American woman to have been elected to Congress from Alabama and, along with Republican Martha Roby, was one of the first women elected to Congress from Alabama in a regular election. Sewell has been the only Democrat in Alabama's House delegation during her entire term in office, and other than Doug Jones' term as a senator from 2018 to 2021, she has also been the state's only congressional Democrat.

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Role Title Holding Repository
creatorOf The HistoryMakers Video Oral History with The Honorable Terri A. Sewell The HistoryMakers
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associatedWith Clemon, U. W., 1943- person
employeeOf Davis, Polk & Wardwell corporateBody
alumnusOrAlumnaOf Harvard Law School corporateBody
associatedWith Heflin, Howell person
alumnusOrAlumnaOf Oxford University corporateBody
alumnusOrAlumnaOf Princeton University corporateBody
associatedWith Shelby, Richard person
Place Name Admin Code Country
New York City NY US
Selma AL US
Princeton NJ US
Huntsville AL US
Oxford ENG GB
Birmingham AL US
Cambridge MA US
Subject
Occupation
Authors
Law clerks
Lawyer
Legislative assistants
Representatives, U.S. Congress
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Person

Birth 1965-01-01

Female

Americans

English

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