A member of the Tennessee General Assembly will participate at an MTSU forum on African-Americans in politics.

State Rep. Brenda Gilmore, D-Nashville, will be the featured speaker at “Let’s Talk Politics,” a free public discussion slated for 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 20, in Room 126 of MTSU’s Business and Aerospace Building.

State Rep. Brenda Gilmore

“I am very excited to have Ms. Gilmore speak at our ‘Let’s Talk Politics’ forum,” said Juanetta Dobbins, recording secretary for the MTSU student chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and a senior public relations major from Nashville.

Click on the 2014 events poster for a printable version.

“I’ve met many people at MTSU who describe her (Gilmore) as such an inspiration to them.”

First elected to the House in 2007, Gilmore represents District 54, which encompasses part of Davidson County. She is a member of the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, the House Criminal Justice Committee and the Joint Fiscal Review Committee.

From 1993 to 2003, Gilmore served on the Nashville Metro Council. She is a lifetime member of the NAACP and is active in Delta Sigma Theta sorority, the Nashville Women’s Political Caucus, the National Hook-Up of Black Women and other civic and professional organizations.

Gilmore earned her bachelor’s degree in business from Tennessee State University in 1984 and her master’s degree in human resource development from Vanderbilt University in 1988.

The forum will focus on the lack of African-American presence in politics, the significance of the black vote and obstacles faced by African-American women in politics.

For more information about this Black History Month event, contact Juanetta Dobbins at nettadobbins@gmail.com.

— Gina K. Logue (gina.logue@mtsu.edu)