Born in Chicago, Illinois on November 21, 1941, Louvenia Dorsey Bright spent her early and teen years in Robbins, Illinois and Niles, Michigan respectively. She later moved to Detroit, Michigan where she graduated with honors from Detroit Eastern High School. Louvenia graduated from Highland Park Junior College in Highland Park, Michigan. She then became a school secretary in the Highland Park Public School District. In 1961, she began studies at Wayne State University in Detroit, where she majored in business education – graduating in 1965.
In 1963, she married Dr. William E. Bright II and the two served from 1965-1967 in the Peace Corps/Philippines, where she taught at the Philippine Normal College in Manila.
Upon returning to the United States, she taught business education at Highland Park High School. She also returned to Wayne State University earning a Master’s in Education in 1971. That same year, she and her family moved to Burlington, Vermont.
In Vermont, Louvenia earned attended a Certificate of Advanced Studies in Education Administration at the University of Vermont. She was also active in her community including:
teaching business education at Colchester High School and Burlington High School; serving in many leadership capacities including as Vice President of the Black Professionals Network of Vermont; a Gender/Equity Consultant to the Rural Education Center; a Member of the Vermont State Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights; a member of the Minority Women’s Business Partnership and the local NAACP Chapter.
In 1988, she made her mark in Vermont history when she was elected to the Vermont State House of Representatives and served three terms representing the City of South Burlington. She was the first African American woman – and, in fact, the first woman of color – to serve in the Vermont State Legislature. As a State Representative, Louvenia led the fight for race and gender equity, inclusion, and opportunity, serving as Ranking Member of the Health and Welfare Committee where she stewarded passage of Vermont’s first Parental and Family Leave Act. She also served on Government Operations Committee. In 2021, local NAACP chapters in Vermont established The Bright Leadership Institute (BLI) in her honor as a multi-stage training program for BIPOC Vermonters running for any level of public office or taking on community leadership roles. In addition, she was also honored by Emerge Vermont with a lifetime achievement award for her political work in the State. In 1995, she retired and moved to Alexandria Virginia. In 2011 she continued, her retirement, with her husband, in Park Forest, Illinois.
Former Representative Louvenia Dorsey Bright passed away peacefully on Saturday, July 29, 2023.
