Katie G. Dorsett
Katie Grays Dorsett (July 8, 1932 – July 6, 2020) was a Democratic politician and educator from North Carolina. She served in the North Carolina Senate representing the 28th district (Guilford County) from 2003 to 2011 and was the Senate Majority Whip in 2009–2010. Before joining the Senate, she was the Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Administration from 1993 to 2001, becoming the first African American woman to hold a North Carolina Cabinet post.
Dorsett was born in Shaw, Mississippi, and spent her early years in public schools before attending Alcorn State University (BS), Indiana University Bloomington (MS), and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (EdD). She taught business at North Carolina A&T State University from 1955 to 1987. She also served on the Greensboro City Council from 1983 to 1986, the first African American woman elected to that body, and was a Guilford County Commissioner starting in 1990.
She decided not to seek re-election in 2010 and was inducted into the North Carolina Women’s Hall of Fame in 2010. Dorsett died in Greensboro, North Carolina, on July 6, 2020, two days before her 88th birthday.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 05:36 (CET).