Written by: Anna S. Bright
Senator Margie Bright Matthews, a “drum major for justice,” is a native of Walterboro, South Carolina. She has been married to Patrick Matthews for 30 years and is the mother of four daughters and the grandmother of three grandsons. Her parents are the late Herbert Garfield and Jessie Rine Davis Bright. She is the youngest of nine children, two of whom are deceased. Her church affiliation is New Life United Methodist Church.
Senator Matthews is a 1981 graduate of Walterboro High School. She received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of South Carolina and her Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina Law School. While at USC, she became very active in the NAACP, the Democratic Party, and student government.
In addition to being active in the schools, Mrs. Matthews remains active in her church. Some of the organizations to which she belongs and have belonged are: President of the Colleton County Bar Association, a former member of the Board of Governors of the South Carolina Bar Association, the South Carolina Women Lawyers Association, and a member of the Walterboro Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. In the 2016 Election, she served as a state delegate to the National Democratic Convention. Senator Matthews has received numerous awards and recognitions for her service.
After being admitted to the South Carolina Bar in 1989, Mrs. Matthews became an associate at a local law firm in Colleton County. 1n 1992, she started her own law firm, The Bright Matthews Law Firm, LLC. In October 2015 Mrs. Margie Bright Matthews was elected to the South Carolina Senate, representing District 45 (Allendale, Beaufort, Charleston, Colleton, Hampton, and Jasper Counties), to complete the term of the late Senator Clementa Pinckney, who was tragically killed along with eight of his members at Mother Emanuel
A.M.E. Church in Charleston, SC. She was re-elected to continue to serve this position in the South Carolina Senate. She is the second African-American female senator to serve in the South Carolina General Assembly, and it took 20 years for that to happen in this state.
Senator Matthews has served/is currently serving on the following committees in the South Carolina General Assembly: Corrections and Penology, Fish, Game, and Forestry, Judiciary, Medical Affairs, Transportation, and Family and Veterans’ Services Committee. She led a historical filibuster in the Senate, quashing an abortion bill that was sent back to Committee. That was a huge victory for Democrats in a “Red” state.
Colleton County thanks Senator Margie Bright Matthews, for being one of our African-American Women Trailblazers in the name of justice and equality, especially for the underprivileged, and for making a significant impact in the South Carolina Legislature.
