Vincent Fort
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Vincent D. Fort was first elected to the Georgia State Senate from the 39th District in 1996. He represents part of Fulton County.
Sen. Fort serves as on the Appropriations, Education and Youth, Reapportionment and Redistricting, Retirement and Special Judiciary committees.
In 1998, Senator Fort chaired the Senate Study Committee on Public Education Disciplinary Reform. Moreover, he is the chairman of the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus Committee on Education.
Senator Fort continues to be a highly active member of the General Assembly, pursuing and successfully achieving a number of legislative objectives, most notably the passage of what is commonly known as the Georgia Hate Crimes Law. This legislation is designed to provide for enhanced penalties for defendants who intentionally select their victim due to bias or prejudice such as crimes based on race, religion, ethnicity, disability, and sexual orientation.
In addition, the senator is the first author of Georgia’s predatory lending law, which, until recently, was the strongest law in the country. He has been on the forefront for providing a safer Georgia, sponsoring and co-sponsoring bills against prostitution, drug-related nuisances, discrimination against citizens with disabilities, and racial profiling.
Senator Fort currently is a professor of history and political science at a local college in Atlanta. He received his Bachelor of Arts Degree from American History at Central Connecticut State College and his Masters Degree in African-American History from Atlanta University.
He also has continued his education at Emory University, where he is researching the post-World War II Civil Rights Movement. He also served as assistant director of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers Project. Senator Fort’s unwavering commitment to making Georgia a better place to live has been recognized by several organizations such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP); Georgia Council on Aging; The Georgia Commission on the Holocaust; the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP); the National Association of Consumer Advocates; and the Anti-Defamation League.
Senator Fort is married and has three children.
