Green Currin (October 20, 1842 or 1844 – October 21, 1918) was the first African American to serve in the

Oklahoma Territorial Legislature The Oklahoma Territorial Legislature was the legislative branch of the government of the Oklahoma Territory. It was organized as a bicameral legislature with a territorial council and a territorial house of representatives.Brown, Kenny L.Oklaho ...

that existed before statehood in 1907.Fisher, Bruce T. "Currin, Green I. (1842?-1918)," http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/C/CU005.html Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture (accessed April 18, 2013) He was the author of the Oklahoma Territory's first civil rights legislation, a proposal to penalize racial violence, that failed by one vote. Currin participated in the

Land Run of 1889 The Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889 was the first land run into the Unassigned Lands of former Indian Territory, which had earlier been assigned to the Creek and Seminole peoples. The area that was opened to settlement included all or part of Canad ...

and served as the grand master of an African American Masonic Order in Oklahoma.

Early life

There is conflicting information about Currin's birth, which is listed as October 20, 1842, in

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, in a published obituary and as 1844 in a 1900 U.S. Census for Oklahoma Territory. After living in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

and

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

, Currin participated in the Land Run of 1889 in Kingfisher County, Oklahoma Territory.

Political career

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, Currin, was one of five delegates elected to the Oklahoma Territorial House of Representatives from Kingfisher County, taking his seat August 27, 1890. Due to an incident in Kingfisher in which three white men clubbed and injured an African American man, Currin authored House Bill 119, which penalized racial violence. After receiving approval in the Territorial House of Representatives, it failed by one vote in the Territorial Senate.Mahoney, Eleanor. "Currin, Green I. (1842-1918)" http://www.blackpast.org/?q=aaw/currin-green-i-1842-1918 Blackpast.org (accessed April 18, 2013) Currin did not run for re-election after his first term.

Masonic Order of Oklahoma

Currin, like many African Americans of his time was involved in African American fraternal orders, serving as the grand master of the St. John Grand Lodge of the AF & AM Masonic Order of Oklahoma. Not long before his death, a Masonic temple was built in

Boley, Oklahoma Boley is a town in Okfuskee County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1,184 at the 2010 census, a gain of 5.2 percent from the figure of 1,126 recorded in 2000. Boley was incorporated in 1905 as a predominantly Black pioneer town with pe ...

.Thompson, John H.L. "Fraternal Orders, African American" http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/F/FR008.html Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture (accessed April 18, 2013)

Later life, death and legacy

Currin served as a deputy U.S. marshal and on the board of regents for the Colored Agricultural and Normal College known today as

Langston University Langston University (LU) is a public land-grant historically black university in Langston, Oklahoma. It is the only historically black college in the state. Though located in a rural setting east of Guthrie, Langston also serves an urban mis ...

. Currin was alive for

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 ...

statehood in 1907 and the election of

A. C. Hamlin Albert Comstock Hamlin (February 10, 1881 – August 29, 1912) was the first African American elected to the Oklahoma Legislature. He lost his re-election bid as a direct result of a constitutional amendment that prevented many black Oklahomans ...

to the

Oklahoma Legislature The Legislature of the State of Oklahoma is the state legislative branch of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The Oklahoma House of Representatives and Oklahoma Senate are the two houses that make up the bicameral state legislature. There are 101 ...

. He was also alive for the constitutional amendment intended to block potential black voters from registering and the 1915 case, '' Guinn v. United States'', that struck it down.Franklin, Jimmie Lewis. "African Americans" http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/A/AF003.html, Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, Oklahoma Historical Society. (accessed April 17, 2013) The "grandfather clause" was responsible for an exodus of African Americans from

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Currin died at his home in

Dover, Oklahoma Dover is a town in Kingfisher County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 464 at the 2010 census. a 26.4 percent gain over the figure of 367 in 2000. History The area around Dover was ideal for cattle grazing, By 1884, all the land had be ...

on October 21, 1918, and was buried in Burns cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Currin, Green 1918 deaths Year of birth uncertain Oklahoma Republicans People from Kingfisher County, Oklahoma 1840s births Members of the Oklahoma Territorial Legislature 19th-century American legislators African-American state legislators in Oklahoma 20th-century African-American people

Early life

Political career

Masonic Order of Oklahoma

Later life, death and legacy

See also

References