Gloria Bromell Tinubu facts for kids

Gloria Bromell Tinubu was born on February 22, 1953. She is an expert in economics, a teacher, and a political leader. She worked on the Atlanta City Council and was a member of the Georgia State Assembly. She also ran for mayor of Atlanta and for Congress in South Carolina.

Early Life and Education

Gloria Bromell Tinubu grew up in Georgetown County, South Carolina, near Murrells Inlet. She was the seventh of eight children. Her parents, Beatrice and Charlie Bromell, wanted all their children to finish high school. When she was four, her family moved to Plantersville. This town is also in Georgetown County, South Carolina.

High School and College Years

Gloria graduated from Choppee High School in 1971. She was the second-best student in her class and the class president. She was the first in her family to go to college. She started at the University of South Carolina. Later, she moved to Howard University. In 1974, she earned a bachelor's degree in Fine Arts with high honors.

Family Life

In 1976, Gloria married Soji Tinubu. He was born in Nigeria and is a U.S. citizen. Soji has a master's degree in civil engineering from Clemson University. Gloria and Soji have four children and six grandchildren.

Her Work in Academia

Gloria Bromell Tinubu decided to continue her studies after college. She became the first African-American woman to earn a master's degree in Agricultural Economics from Clemson University in December 1977.

Studying Property Issues

Her master's project looked at problems with "heirs property." This is land where ownership is unclear because it has been passed down through generations without proper legal documents. Her study was the first to scientifically show how big this problem was in South Carolina. Her findings were shared in a magazine and local newspapers. She also presented them at a big economics meeting. Her work even helped a state representative suggest a new law to fix these problems.

Earning Her Ph.D.

Bromell Tinubu kept studying at Clemson. In August 1986, she became the first African American student there to earn a Ph.D. in Applied Economics. Her Ph.D. project looked at how financially stable public water systems were in South Carolina.

Teaching and Leadership Roles

She began her teaching career in 1986. She was an assistant professor of economics at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia. By 1992, she became the head of the economics department. She also became an associate professor. After moving back to South Carolina, she taught at Coastal Carolina University in Conway.

From 2001 to 2004, she started and led the Atlanta Cooperative Development Corporation. This group helped create cooperative businesses and housing. From 2004 to 2006, Bromell Tinubu was the president of Barber–Scotia College. This is a historically black college in North Carolina.

Political Career

Gloria Bromell Tinubu started her political journey in Georgia. In 1993, she was elected to the Atlanta City Council for a four-year term. In 2000, Governor Roy Barnes appointed her to the Georgia Board of Education.

Serving in the Georgia Assembly

Later, she was elected as a Democrat to the Georgia General Assembly. She served on committees that dealt with government relations, cooperation between states, and helping small businesses. Before this, she ran for Atlanta mayor in 1997 and 2001.

Supporting Presidential Campaigns

In 2016, Bromell Tinubu supported Bernie Sanders for president early on. She had helped him raise money and campaign for her in 2014. She was part of the Women for Bernie group and led the SC Women for Bernie.

In February 2019, she supported Marianne Williamson for president. Bromell Tinubu became Williamson's national senior advisor and South Carolina state director. However, in late April 2019, she left the campaign. She announced she would run for the U.S. Senate in 2020.

Writing a Book

In 2021, she helped write a book called The Georgia Way: How to Win Elections.

Running for Congress in 2012

After moving back to South Carolina, she joined the Democratic Party there. In 2012, Bromell Tinubu ran for Congress in the new South Carolina's 7th congressional district. She won the Democratic primary election with 73% of the votes. This made her the first African-American woman in South Carolina to win her party's nomination for Congress.

However, a judge ruled that some votes needed to be counted differently. This meant she had to have a runoff election. She won the runoff with 73% of the vote. In the main election, she lost to Republican Tom Rice. He received 56% of the votes, and she received 44%. A journalist later noted that this was the closest a Democrat had come to winning this district since 2010.

Running for Congress in 2014

In 2014, she ran against Tom Rice again for the same congressional seat. However, she lost by a larger difference this time. Rice won with 60% of the votes, while Bromell Tinubu received 40%.

2018 Governor's Race

In 2018, Democratic candidate Phil Noble chose Tinubu to be his running mate for lieutenant governor. However, James Smith won the Democratic nomination for governor.

2020 U.S. Senate Race

In May 2019, Tinubu announced she would run for the United States Senate. She planned to challenge the Republican Senator Lindsey Graham. Her campaign focused on "Economic Justice." She joined another Democrat, Jaime Harrison, in the race for the nomination. In January 2020, Tinubu decided to leave the race and supported Harrison instead.