Summary: | U.S. Congresswoman Eva M. Clayton was born September 16, 1934, in Savannah, Georgia. In 1955, Clayton received her B.S. degree in biology from Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, North Carolina; and her M.S. degree in biology and general science from North Carolina Central University in Durham, North Carolina. In 1974, she cofounded and served as executive director of Soul City Foundation, a housing organization that renovated dilapidated buildings for use as homeless shelters and daycare centers. Clayton served on the Warren County (NC) Board of Commissioners from 1982 to 1990. In 1992, she became the first black woman elected to U.S. Congress in North Carolina, serving five terms, before retiring in 2003. That same year, Clayton's name was put forth as a possible Democratic vice presidential candidate. She later served with the Food Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Rome, Italy, as assistant director-general and special adviser to the director-general.
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