Vivian Davis Figures facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Vivian Figures
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| Member of the Alabama Senate from the 33rd district |
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| Assumed office January 28, 1997 |
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| Preceded by | Michael Figures |
| Member of the Mobile City Council | |
| In office January 1993 – January 1997 |
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| Succeeded by | Fred Richardson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 24, 1957 Mobile, Alabama, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse |
Michael Figures
(m. 1982; died 1996) |
| Children | 3, including Shomari |
| Education | University of New Haven (BA) Faulkner University |
Vivian Davis Figures, born on January 24, 1957, is an American politician. She is a member of the Democratic Party and serves in the Alabama Senate. She represents the 33rd District in Mobile County. She was first elected on January 28, 1997. This was to finish the term of her husband, Senator Michael Figures, who had passed away. She was re-elected without anyone running against her in 1998 and 2002.
Early Life and Education
Vivian Figures went to Williamson High School in Mobile, Alabama. She later earned a degree in management science from the University of New Haven in Connecticut. To pay for her college, she worked at Yale University and in her family's grocery store. She was studying law when her husband passed away, which meant she had to stop her legal studies.
Figures is the President and CEO of the Figures Legacy Education Foundation. She also serves on the board of directors for the Mobile Area Education Foundation. She was once a member of the Democratic National Committee. In 2002, she joined the Delta Theta Omega chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.
Vivian Figures' Political Journey
Vivian Figures was first elected to the Mobile City Council in 1993. As a council member, she was known for standing up for her community. Early in her time on the council, she spoke out against a plan to build a facility that would burn oil near downtown Mobile. She also suggested naming Mobile's new baseball park after the famous home run hitter Hank Aaron, who was from Mobile.
After her husband passed away in 1996, Figures decided to run for his seat in the Alabama Senate. She received the most votes in the first round of the Democratic Party's primary election. She then won against James Buskey in a second election. After that, she defeated Republican Gregory Ramos to win the state senate seat. She was sworn into office in January 1997.
In the Alabama Senate, Figures leads the Education Committee and the Mobile County Local Legislation Committee. She is well-known for often proposing a bill to ban smoking in public indoor places across Alabama. In 2008, this bill passed the Senate. It was expected to pass in the House and the Governor had said he would sign it. However, the bill did not become law because other lawmakers used a tactic called a "filibuster" to stop a final vote. Figures also helped pass laws that brought a large Thyssen-Krupp steel plant to the Mobile area.
In 2008, Figures was the Democratic candidate for a United States Senate seat. She won the Democratic primary election in June 2008 with 64% of the votes. Hank Aaron, the baseball legend, even campaigned for her and helped raise money. On November 4, 2008, she was defeated by the Republican candidate, Jeff Sessions.
In November 2012, Alabama Senate Democrats chose Figures to be their floor leader. This meant she was the first woman to lead either the majority or minority party in either house of the Alabama Legislature.
In April 2019, Davis Figures announced she would run to be the leader of the Alabama Democratic Party. However, she decided to drop out of that race in June.
Davis Figures has been a strong voice in debates about laws. For example, she spoke out against a bill that would have placed strict rules on certain medical procedures. She argued for fairness in laws that affect men and women.
In April 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Davis Figures shared her worries about the legislative session. She said it was important to consider the health and safety of lawmakers and staff, especially those with young children or elderly family members.
In 2021, Davis Figures' home in Toulminville, Alabama, was attacked. Many shots were fired into her house, but no one was hurt because the house was empty at the time.
Davis Figures supported the legal precedent known as Roe v. Wade. After it was overturned in 2022, she and many of her Democratic colleagues in the Alabama Senate worked to propose bills that aimed to protect certain medical rights. However, none of these bills were passed.
Family Life
Vivian Figures has three sons. Her middle son, Shomari Figures, is currently a United States Representative for Alabama's 2nd district. He used to work for the Obama administration and was a top aide for Merrick Garland when he was the attorney general of the United States. Her youngest son, Jelani, played basketball on a scholarship for Morehouse College from 2007 to 2011.
See also
- Black women in American politics
- List of African-American United States Senate candidates
