Harriet Elizabeth “Liz” Byrd was the first African-American woman to serve in the Wyoming State Legislature. She served in the House of Representatives from 1980 to 1988 and in the Senate from 1988 to 1992.
Born and reared in Cheyenne, Wyoming, Byrd earned a bachelor’s degree in education in 1949 from West Virginia State College. Upon her return to Cheyenne, she was denied a teaching job because of her race, a decision that was later reversed. Byrd taught elementary school for 27 years in Cheyenne and received her M.A. in teaching from the University of Wyoming in 1976.
During her tenure in the state legislature, she sponsored legislation establishing a state holiday in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. In 1991, she was partially successful with the passage of the bill, but the holiday was named the Martin Luther King, Jr./Wyoming Equality Day.