On this day in Alabama history: Alexis Herman was born in Mobile
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Former Labor Secretary Alexis Herman (L) and former White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten, co-chairs of the Presidential Leadership Scholars advisory committee, deliver remarks during an event launching the program at the Newseum Sept. 8, 2014 in Washington, D.C. With the cooperation of the Clinton, Bush, Lyndon B. Johnson and George H. W. Bush presidential libraries and foundations, the new scholarship program will provide "motivated leaders across all sectors an opportunity to study presidential leadership and decision making and learn from key administration officials, practitioners and leading academics." (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
July 16, 1947
Alexis Margaret Herman, the only African-American to serve as the U.S. Secretary of Labor, was born in Mobile. Herman’s political career began in 1977 when President Jimmy Carter appointed her to head the Department of Labor Women’s Bureau. She also served as the chief executive officer of the 1992 Democratic National Convention and as director of the White House Public Liaison Office under President Bill Clinton. As Secretary of Labor from 1997-2001, Herman settled a UPS workers’ strike, reformed public job-training systems and oversaw the implementation of the Youth Opportunity Grants program. Herman was inducted into the Minority Business Hall of Fame in 2007.
Read more at Encyclopedia of Alabama.
For more on Alabama’s Bicentennial, visit Alabama 200.
