Cuthbert Ormond Simpkins (January 13, 1925 – December 4, 2019) was a dentist, civil rights campaigner, and state legislator in Louisiana. He left the state under threat of violence before returning. He was born in Mansfield, Louisiana to Oscar Simpkins. He studied at

Wiley College Wiley College is a private historically black college in Marshall, Texas. Founded in 1873 by the Methodist Episcopal Church's Bishop Isaac Wiley and certified in 1882 by the Freedman's Aid Society, it is one of the oldest predominantly black col ...

and graduated from

Tennessee State University Tennessee State University (Tennessee State, Tenn State, or TSU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, it is the only state-funded historically black university in Tenness ...

with an undergraduate degree. He received a Doctorate of Dental Surgery from

Meharry Medical College School of Dentistry The School of Dentistry is a dental school within Meharry Medical College located in the United States city of Nashville, Tennessee. History Meharry Medical College School of Dentistry is a part of Meharry Medical College. The school was establi ...

in Nashville, Tennessee. He served in the U.S. Air Force. He was a founding member of the

Southern Christian Leadership Conference The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) is an African-American civil rights organization based in Atlanta, Georgia. SCLC is closely associated with its first president, Martin Luther King Jr., who had a large role in the American civi ...

. He lived in

Shreveport Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population o ...

. His home and office were firebombed. He lived in New York for 26 years before returning to Shreveport. A Democrat, he served in the

Louisiana House of Representatives The Louisiana House of Representatives (french: link=no, Chambre des Représentants de Louisiane) is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. This chamber is composed of 105 repr ...

from 1992 to 1996. He was married to Elaine nee Shoemaker Simpkins. There were no children from this marriage. Dr. Simpkins had a total of children. Mansfield's post office was renamed for him.https://www.congress.gov/116/plaws/publ204/PLAW-116publ204.pdf

References

1925 births 2019 deaths People from Mansfield, Louisiana Democratic Party members of the Louisiana House of Representatives 20th-century American politicians United States Air Force officers Wiley College alumni Tennessee State University alumni Meharry Medical College alumni African-American state legislators in Louisiana American dentists {{Louisiana-politician-stub