Representative Anthony Daniels

House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels represents Alabama House of Representatives District 53, located in the Huntsville area of Madison County.

In 2015, Anthony was named Alabama State Legislator of the Year by his colleagues in the House Democratic Caucus. While still in his first term, he was elected by his Democratic colleagues to serve as their leader in the House. He is both the youngest and the first African American to hold this position in modern history.

Under his leadership, the House Democratic Caucus has already made great strides. During the 2017 session, House Democrats successfully mounted an organized effort to fight back against and stop several measures from passing. For the first time in several years, the Democratic Caucus also developed and unveiled a policy platform and has laid the groundwork to ensure additional strides for the near future.

After growing up in Midway, Alabama, Anthony graduated cum laude from Alabama A&M University with a Bachelor's degree in elementary education in 2005. Anthony went on to earn a Master's degree in special education in 2010, also from Alabama A&M University, and completed a certification in education fundraising from Dartmouth College in 2012.

Anthony was elected as chairman of the National Education Association (NEA) Student Program, where he represented more than 62,000 college students on more than 1,100 campuses nationwide. Working in D.C., his leadership and collaboration with numerous organizations fostered the passage of the College Cost and Reduction Act of 2007, which was signed into law by President George W. Bush.

As a leading voice on issues of college access and affordability and in his role as NEA chairman, Anthony testified before Department of Education committee hearings, spoke to groups throughout the country, and was regularly interviewed on national television, nationally syndicated radio programs, and in various magazines.

Anthony continues to advocate for a quality education as a public servant and as a former elementary school teacher. His experience includes teaching third grade at the Academy of Science and Foreign Language, fourth grade at University Place Elementary (a Title I school), and a fourth and fifth grade blended-class at Cochiti Middle School on an Indian reservation.

In January 2012, Anthony returned to his Alma Mater as Corporate and Foundations Relations Officer, a position he held until November 2014 when he was elected to the State Legislature. He currently owns and operates two small businesses, which he owns with his wife, Dr. Teneshia Daniels.

He is an active member of his community as a member of the Downtown Huntsville Rotary Club and the Huntsville Country Club, and he received the 2016 Business Champion Award from the Alabama Business Council. He has also been selected as one of 14 leaders from across the country to join the NewDEAL (Developing Exceptional American Leaders), a selective national network of state and local leaders working to enact pro-growth, progressive solutions. The NewDEAL program is focused on expanding opportunity, helping leaders like Anthony to develop and spread innovative ideas that spur economic growth that is broadly-earned and sustainable.

Anthony is a small business owner, a community activist, a husband, and a father to two daughters and a son.