Renitta Shannon | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Georgia House of Representatives from the 84th district | |
| In office January 9, 2017 – January 9, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Rahn Mayo |
| Succeeded by | Omari Crawford |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Renitta Shanbay Shannon December 29, 1979 |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | University of Florida (BA) |
| Website | Campaign website |
Renitta Shanbay Shannon (born December 29, 1979)[1] is an American politician who served as a Democratic member of the Georgia House of Representatives. In 2016, Shannon defeated a four-term Democratic incumbent. In January 2017, she was sworn into the Georgia State House of Representatives to represent the 84th district.
In 2017, she came out as bisexual,[2] making her the first bisexual legislator to serve in the Georgia General Assembly.
Early life
Shannon was born in Florida. After college, she worked in business development for a variety of sectors including mental health and financial services.[3] In a 2019 interview, she said that she spent most of her free time as an activist on racial justice, economic justice, criminal justice, and equality issues, including as an organizer for various progressive grassroots organizations.[4]
Career
She defeated incumbent representative Rahn Mayo in the Democratic primaries in 2016,[5] and went on to win the seat unopposed in the 2016 general election.
According to Shannon, she ran for office "to fight for policies that truly support women, working people, and people of color"[6] and has written about improving representation and of electing queer black women into public office.[7]
In her 2019–2020 term, she was appointed the Chair of the House Democratic Criminal Justice Reform Committee and is a member of the Governmental Affairs, Small Business Development, and Insurance committees[8] positions she continued in for her 2021–2022 term, with the addition of the State Planning and Community Affairs Committee.
She ran for Lieutenant Governor of Georgia in the 2022 election.[9]
References
- ↑ "Renitta Shannon". Georgia House of Representatives, June 11, 2019.
- ↑ "Georgia lawmaker publicly comes out as LGBTQ". Project Q Atlanta. 2017-10-12.
- ↑ Duncan, Dallas (2018-02-01). "Georgia state Rep. Renitta Shannon on coming out, amplifying bisexual voices". Georgia Voice - Gay & LGBT Atlanta News.
- ↑ Speak, Polly C. (2019-05-22). "A Q&A With Georgia Representative Renitta Shannon - The Lighthouse|Black Girl Projects". Retrieved 2021-09-27.
- ↑ "Renitta Shannon’s Big Primary Victory; Lopez to be First Latina in State House". Atlanta Progressive News, May 30, 2016.
- ↑ "I'm A Black Woman & An Elected Official, & I Had An Abortion. I'm Here To Tell My Story". Elite Daily. May 10, 2018.
- ↑ Shannon, Renitta (2018-06-14). "Pride Month: Why It Matters to Elect Queer Black Women to Public Office". The BGG to Politics.
- ↑ "Renitta Shannon". Ballotpedia.
- ↑ "Democratic state Rep. Renitta Shannon enters race for Georgia's lieutenant governor". ajc. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
