First Black American elected to the Wyoming Legislature, Liz Byrd, honored in bronze – Wyoming Tribune Eagle

Former member of the state House of Representatives Jim Byrd speaks during the unveiling of his mother’s statue, the Harriet Elizabeth “Liz” Byrd statue on the corner of Carey Avenue and 21st Street on Saturday in Cheyenne. Liz Byrd was an educator, state lawmaker and trailblazer. The statue was donated by Arlene Ogasawara.
The Harriet Elizabeth “Liz” Byrd statue is photographed on the corner of Carey Avenue and 21st Street on Saturday in Cheyenne. Byrd was an educator, state lawmaker and trailblazer. The statue was donated by Arlene Ogasawara.
All members involved in the making of the newest addition to the Capitol Bronze Project pose for a photograph during the unveiling of the Harriet Elizabeth “Liz” Byrd statue on the corner of Carey Avenue and 21st Street on Saturday in Cheyenne. Byrd was an educator, state lawmaker and trailblazer. The statue was donated by Arlene Ogasawara.
Artist John Baker speaks during the unveiling of the Harriet Elizabeth “Liz” Byrd statue on the corner of Carey Avenue and 21st Street on Saturday in Cheyenne. Byrd was an educator, state lawmaker and trailblazer. The statue was donated by Arlene Ogasawara.
Former member of the state House of Representatives Jim Byrd speaks during the unveiling of his mother’s statue, the Harriet Elizabeth “Liz” Byrd statue on the corner of Carey Avenue and 21st Street on Saturday in Cheyenne. Byrd was an educator, state lawmaker and trailblazer. The statue was donated by Arlene Ogasawara.

Arts and Entertainment/Features Reporter
Former member of the state House of Representatives Jim Byrd speaks during the unveiling of his mother’s statue, the Harriet Elizabeth “Liz” Byrd statue on the corner of Carey Avenue and 21st Street on Saturday in Cheyenne. Liz Byrd was an educator, state lawmaker and trailblazer. The statue was donated by Arlene Ogasawara.
The Harriet Elizabeth “Liz” Byrd statue is photographed on the corner of Carey Avenue and 21st Street on Saturday in Cheyenne. Byrd was an educator, state lawmaker and trailblazer. The statue was donated by Arlene Ogasawara.
All members involved in the making of the newest addition to the Capitol Bronze Project pose for a photograph during the unveiling of the Harriet Elizabeth “Liz” Byrd statue on the corner of Carey Avenue and 21st Street on Saturday in Cheyenne. Byrd was an educator, state lawmaker and trailblazer. The statue was donated by Arlene Ogasawara.
Artist John Baker speaks during the unveiling of the Harriet Elizabeth “Liz” Byrd statue on the corner of Carey Avenue and 21st Street on Saturday in Cheyenne. Byrd was an educator, state lawmaker and trailblazer. The statue was donated by Arlene Ogasawara.
Former member of the state House of Representatives Jim Byrd speaks during the unveiling of his mother’s statue, the Harriet Elizabeth “Liz” Byrd statue on the corner of Carey Avenue and 21st Street on Saturday in Cheyenne. Byrd was an educator, state lawmaker and trailblazer. The statue was donated by Arlene Ogasawara.
CHEYENNE — For family and friends, the downtown bronze statue dedication for Harriet Elizabeth “Liz” Byrd is something “long overdue.”
In a short, yet impactful ceremony on a breezy Saturday morning, artist John D. Baker and one of Liz’s children, Jim Byrd, stood in front of a dozen or so community members to say a few words.
Liz Byrd was born in Cheyenne on April 20, 1926, almost 99 years to the day before her legacy would be solidified in bronze. Although she was a member of the Wyoming Senate from 1989 to January 1993, a member of the Wyoming House of Representatives from 1981 to 1989 and on the Marshall Scholarship Board, she was a teacher above all.
After getting her Bachelor of Arts in Education, she was rejected to teach in what is now Laramie County School District 1 due to the color of her skin. However, she persevered and taught at Francis E. Warren Air Force Base for around 10 years. In 1959, she reapplied to be a teacher in the local K-12 district and taught elementary school for 27 years.
This made Liz the first fully certified, full-time Black public school teacher in Wyoming.
Liz and her husband, James, had three kids, all of whom were in attendance at the statue dedication on the corner of Carey Avenue and 21st Street.
Like his mother, James “Jim” Byrd was a member of the Wyoming House of Representatives from 2009 to 2019. When it was his turn to speak, Jim talked about who Liz was as both a teacher and a headstrong individual.
“My mother was your quintessential perfectionist,” said Jim. “She had a gentle hand being an educator. That was her number one passion. She felt that a good education was what got you to the next level in life. … One of her mandates, when she went to the Legislature, was making sure that everybody had an equal shot at a strong education.”
He went on to tell a story about how Liz stormed the Capitol after multiple legislators decided during one of their sessions to stop presenting the Wyoming Constitution when swearing in new citizens, a project that was one of Liz’s favorites. Being the senator at the time, she had access to the floor and stormed in despite not technically being a member of the House of Representatives and pushed for it to stay, and it did.
Liz also had her hand in pieces of legislation like the car seat law and having the bison on the state flag. But she is probably best known for being the driving force behind recognition of the federal holiday Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a state holiday, as well, even though the compromise she had to settle for was to call it “Wyoming Equality Day.”
When Jim and the rest of the family found out that this bronze project was happening, his first reaction was, “That’s cool.”
“She was a high achiever,” said Jim. “She would take adversity and turn it upside down upon you in the most gentle way. She could rip you to shreds (in the Legislature) and leave you lying in a puddle on the floor, and the only thing you could say was, ‘Thank you, Senator Byrd, for the insight.’”
One community member even told Jim that he was following in his mother’s footsteps, to which he replied, “I walk in her shadow every day.”
John Baker is an artist from Laramie who approached Harvey Deselms, the curator of the Capitol Avenue Bronze Project, with the idea to have a statue of Liz standing downtown.
When Baker first approached the project, he was looking at it from the perspective of who she was in the Legislature. After working with Jim, he decided to focus the statue more on who she was as an educator and as a person who stood up for what she believed in and supported the youth.
At the dedication, Baker said, “I felt like it fulfilled some aspects of her personality and her story. … She was a woman of strong conviction. She liked to laugh and talk to people, and that’s how I wanted to portray her, as somebody who was forthcoming and would like to meet people. … so that’s how I posed her, as if she was turning to greet a friend.”
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Taylor Staples is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle’s arts and entertainment/features reporter. She can be reached at 307-256-1368 or tstaples@wyomingnews.com.
Arts and Entertainment/Features Reporter
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