| Cleo Fields is a 1980 graduate of McKinley High School and a 1984graduate of Southern University in the field of Mass Communications. In 1987, Fields obtained his law degree from the Southern University Law Center. Upon completion of law school, Fields was elected to the Louisiana State Senate at the age of 24. He became the youngest person ever elected to the State Senate in Louisiana's history and at that time, the youngest in the nation.
In 1992, Fields was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Louisiana's 4th Congressional district. At the age of 29, Fields was the youngest member of the 103rd Congress. In1993, he created a Congressional Classroom for elementary through secondary school-age students. Noted for being the first of its kind in the country, the Congressional Classroom helped students develop leadership and self-esteem while understanding the governmental process. It is known today as the Louisiana Leadership Institute.
In 1995, he made a bid for Governor of Louisiana, leaving a historical mark by becoming the first African American since reconstruction to make the runoff. He then went on to complete two terms as Congressman. On December 13, 1997, Fields returned to the 14th Senatorial District of Louisiana and served until 2008. On October 12, 2019, Fields was re-elected to the 14th Senatorial District of Louisiana, making history again by becoming the first person in Louisiana to return to the Senate for the third time.
Fields is a member of the Mt. Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church. He is married to Debra and they have two sons, Brandon and Christopher. |