Joyce Beatty

Served in the U.S. House of Representatives, 2013-present

Born: 1950 in Dayton, Ohio

Education: B.A., Central State University, 1972; M.S., Wright State University, 1974

Prior Experience: Member of the Ohio State House of Representatives from 1999 - 2008; Delegate to the Democratic National Convention, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016

Age When First Elected to the US House: 62

Length of Service: 6 terms (as of September 2023)

How She Entered the US House: Ran in 2012 in a newly created district

Party: Democrat

Background

Growing up in a home where civil rights were a common topic of conversation, Beatty was further inspired to get involved in politics when she watched Jesse Jackson speak at the 1984 Democratic National Convention (Barone & McCutcheon). Her husband, Otto, served in the Ohio State House of Representatives for 18 years. In 1998, after he resigned, Joyce was appointed his successor, easily holding on to the seat in the following regular election (White & Allen). In 2006, she became the first woman ever elected Minority Leader, the highest ranking Democrat in the State House.

In 2012, Ohio's controversial redistricting process created a safe Democratic seat in the Columbus area. Beatty ran against 3 other Democrats in the primary, including former US House member Mary Jo Kilroy. In a tight race, Beatty won with 38% of the vote, defeating Kilroy by only 3 points. She went on to win the general election with 72% of the vote, beating Republican Chris Long, a former city council member.

In the House, Beatty has been an advocate for increasing financial literacy, creating affordable housing, and eradicating human trafficking. She successfully proposed legislation to combat child sex trafficking, which became part of the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, signed by President Obama in 2015.

Ebony Magazine named her one of the 150 most powerful Blacks in the United States.

During the spring of 2020, participating in a demonstration in Columbus to protest the killing of George Floyd, she was pepper-sprayed by police. In an interview with The Atlantic, she explained that she remembered as a teenager in the 1960s having to use a different drinking fountain and swimming in segregated pools, and that throughout her life, she had participated in many civil rights demonstrations. However, her experience in May 2020 was something completely different: "Within the moment, I became someone who was attacked" (Godfrey). In the 117th Congress (2021 - 23), she will serve as the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Learn more about Representative Beatty.

Ohio's 3rd District

Since 2012, Democrat Joyce Beatty has represented Ohio's new 3rd district, which includes the state capitol. In the 2012 redistricting process, the Republican-controlled state legislature gerrymandered the district specifically to create a safe Democratic seat, eliminating one of the two congressional districts that had previously represented the city of Columbus. The district is relatively compact at only 228 square miles, includes most of Columbus, and is the only district in Ohio to be entirely within one county (shown here). About one-third of the residents are Black.

Learn more about Ohio's 3rd District.

Sources and Resources:

The Almanac of American Politics, (various editions).

"Beatty, Joyce." Women in Congress, U. S. House of Representatives Office of the Clerk,
http://history.house.gov/People/Detail/15032386867?ret=True

Godfrey, Elaine. 2020. "The Congresswoman Pepper-Sprayed by Police," The Atlantic, May 31, https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/05/congresswoman-pepper-sprayed-joyce-beatty/612436/

"Representative Joyce Beatty." Congress.gov,
https://www.congress.gov/member/joyce-beatty/B001281?q={%22search%22:[%22beatty%22]}&r=1

White, Chris & Amanda Allen, eds. 2014. Politics in America, 17^th Edition. Washington, DC: CQ Roll Call, p, 761.