Evans, Dwight, 1954-
biographical statement
Dwight Evans was born on May 16, 1954 in North Central Philadelphia. Evans was educated at Germantown High School C’71, Community College of Philadelphia C’73, received his Bachelor of Arts from LaSalle College C’75, and conducted graduate studies at Temple University from 1976-1978. Involved in social and political activism since a young age, Evans was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives at the age of 25, the youngest qualifying age for the position. Evans has served the majority of his life in the PA House, serving 18 consecutive terms. Though he spent time on a variety of board in his first ten years, Evans is best known as the first African American voted to chair the Appropriations Committee in 1991, and is also the longest serving chairman of the committee in PA House history (19 years, 1991-2010). Evans left the PA House in 2016 when he was elected to Congress in Washington D.C. as a United States Representative.
Throughout his long career as a state politician, Evans often had his constituents and the broader public in his mind. He worked tirelessly with the OARC (Ogontz Avenue Revitalization Corporation) to remove urban blight from his district starting in 1983, and was a champion for public safety and education reform in Philadelphia and beyond. Some of Evans’ initiatives have received national attention, particularly the Fresh Food Finance Initiative, which has Pennsylvania’s efforts being used as a model for similar initiatives in California, New York, and other states. Ultimately, Evans, a lifelong Pennsylvanian, has spent his 36-years in the PA House to supervise budget hearings as chair of the Appropriations Committee and ensure the livelihood of future generations of Pennsylvanians through his focus on education, public safety, and urban revitalization.