FIRST Black Woman To Be Granted MIBOR Membership

Dr. Daisy Riley Lloyd was born in Lawrence, Kansas, on October 15, 1928. She later attended Howard University to study economics and sociology. While attending college to finance her education and after she graduated, she worked at the Library of Congress as a research assistant. There, she met and married Dr. Frank Lloyd Sr. They then spent a few years living in Germany while Frank served in the army. After returning to the states, they moved to Indianapolis.

Although Lloyd was a full time homemaker with four children, she volunteered to enrich her community, even participating with other concerned mothers in protests at the Indiana State Fairgrounds to overturn segregation practices. During the early 1960s she was approached by the Democratic Party to run for the State Legislature as a member of the House of Representatives. With the support of her family, she was able to serve the public fully. She went door-to-door with a grassroots campaign based on her life’s experiences and desire to wholeheartedly serve the community. After winning the election in 1964, Lloyd became the first African-American woman to serve in the Indiana State Legislature.

During her tenure in the Indiana General Assembly, she became concerned about Blacks being underrepresented in the housing sector. After her term was over, she became a real estate agent. Lloyd soon found out Blacks were being denied complete access to the market and began a civil campaign to provide true equality in the housing market.

Lloyd later pursued a master’s of counseling degree at the Christian Theological Seminary and then completed her Ph.D. in marriage and family counseling from Purdue University.

Dr. Daisy Riley Lloyd resides in Indianapolis, Indiana.