Edward Melvin Porter (May 22, 1930 – July 26, 2016) was an American lawyer, politician, and

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

activist in the state of

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

Biography

Porter was born in 1930 in

Okmulgee, Oklahoma Okmulgee is a city in, and the county seat of, Okmulgee County, Oklahoma. The name is from the Mvskoke word ''okimulgee,'' which means "boiling waters".Bamburg, Maxine"Okmulgee,"''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''. Accessed June 16 ...

. He attended

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 ...

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

, and Shorter College. He passed the Oklahoma Bar examination in 1960. A lawyer, Porter had seven children. In 1961, Porter served as president of the Oklahoma City National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. After an unsuccessful campaign for a seat in the State House in 1962, Porter was elected to the Oklahoma State Senate in 1964 to serve the newly redrawn district 48. He was the first African American to sit in the Oklahoma State Senate. He served until 1987. Porter died on July 26, 2016, at his home in Oklahoma City.Oklahoma's first black state senator dies
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Porter, E. Melvin 1930 births 2016 deaths People from Okmulgee, Oklahoma University of Tennessee alumni Vanderbilt University Law School alumni Oklahoma lawyers Democratic Party Oklahoma state senators African-American state legislators in Oklahoma 20th-century American lawyers