Jeanne Hopkins Lucas

Who was Jeanne Hopkins Lucas?

Jeanne Hopkins Lucas born December 25, 1935, - March 9, 2007 was the first African-American woman elected to serve in North Carolina's state Senate, represented the state's twentieth Senatorial district, including constituents in Durham County. She was appointed to complete the term of former Senator Ralph Hunt, Sr also of Durham.

Known as the 'Queen' of the Senate, Lucas was a proud native of Durham, North Carolina and an alumna of Hillside High School, attending the historically black school from 1951 until 1953 and teaching French and Spanish there from 1957 until 1975. She was also a proud and contributing alum of the first publicly funded historically Black college in the nation, North Carolina Central University and was inducted into the university's Golden Eagle Society in 2003.

Lucas, a tireless fighter for education, served in the state Senate and served as Co-Chairman of the Senate Appropriations on Education/Higher Education committee. Lucas died on the night of March 9, 2007 at the age of 71.

Lucas was active throughout her 71 years on earth.