Sen. Sarah Anthony (D-Lansing) serves in the Michigan Senate’s 21st District and is the first African American woman elected to both the Michigan House of Representatives and Senate in mid-Michigan.
Anthony also serves as the First Vice-Chairperson of the Michigan Legislative Black Caucus and is an influential leader in the Senate Democratic Caucus. She is also the first Black woman to chair the influential Senate Appropriations Committee.
Anthony is well known for passing the CROWN Act to end race-based hair discrimination in Michigan, ending child marriage in Michigan, passing important workforce development and higher education initiatives like Michigan Reconnect, and sponsoring legislation that protects workers’ and women’s rights.
Before her service in the Capitol, Anthony was the youngest Black woman to serve on a county commission in the U.S.
Anthony has been recognized nationally in publications such as the New York Times, Essence, The New Yorker, and Politico. She has also been named Legislator of the Year by business, nonprofit, education, and social justice groups.
Anthony earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from public Michigan universities.