Joyner first black woman elected to serve as Florida Senate Democratic Leader

A FAMU alumna will become the first African American woman to hold the office of Florida Senate Democratic Leader.

Democratic senators from across the state elected Arthenia Joyner to serve as their top official from 2014 through 2016.

"The Senate Democratic Caucus elected a tireless advocate for Democratic values and ally to Florida's middle class families. I want to congratulate Senator Arthenia Joyner on her historic victory," said Florida Democratic Party Chair Allison Tant.

Joyner is currently vice chair of both the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Appropriations Subcommittee on Criminal and Civil Justice. She also sits on the Appropriations, Ethics and Elections, Health Policy, and Transportation Committees, as well as the Appropriations Subcommittee on General Government. Joyner was first elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2000 and then to the Florida Senate in 2006.

The FAMU alumna will be one of the party’s most high-profile voices during the critical gubernatorial election in 2014 and presidential election in 2016.  

Joyner earned her B.S. in political science from FAMU in 1964 and went on to earn her J.D. from the FAMU College of Law in 1968.