Dorothy Bowles Ford is the mother of Harold Ford Jr, a former congressman, author, and economic director. She is also the ex-wife of Harold Ford Sr, the first African-American congressman from Tennessee. Dorothy Bowles Ford was born in 1979 and is of African-American ethnicity. She married Harold Ford Sr in 1969 and had three sons with him: Harold Jr, John Newton, and Sir Isaac. The couple divorced in 1981, and Harold Ford Sr remarried and had two more children: Andrew and Ava.
Dorothy Bowles Ford is a community activist who has been involved in various social causes and organizations. She has served as the president of the Memphis chapter of the National Council of Negro Women, the vice president of the Tennessee Federation of Democratic Women, and the chairperson of the Shelby County Democratic Women. She has also been a member of the NAACP, the Urban League, and the National Women’s Political Caucus. She has received several awards and honors for her work, such as the Outstanding Woman of the Year Award from the Memphis Business and Professional Women’s Club, the Outstanding Community Service Award from the Memphis Urban League, and the Outstanding Leadership Award from the National Council of Negro Women.
Dorothy Bowles Ford has been a supportive and influential figure in her son’s political career. She helped him campaign for his first election to the US House of Representatives in 1996, when he succeeded his father as the representative of the 9th district of Tennessee. She also helped him run for the US Senate in 2006, when he narrowly lost to Bob Corker. She has been described by her son as “inspiring, guiding and able to weather the storm.” She has also been praised by other politicians and commentators for her grace, dignity, and intelligence.
Dorothy Bowles Ford is currently living in Memphis, Tennessee, where she continues to be active in the community and the Democratic Party. She is also a proud grandmother of her son’s two children, Georgia and Harold III, whom he had with his wife Emily Threlkeld.