Maxine Edwyna Cissel Horner (January 17, 1933 – February 7, 2021) was one of the first African American women to serve in the

Oklahoma State Senate The Oklahoma Senate is the upper house of the two houses of the Legislature of Oklahoma, the other being the Oklahoma House of Representatives. The total number of senators is set at 48 by the Oklahoma Constitution.Vicki Miles-LaGrange Vicki Miles-LaGrange (born September 30, 1953) is an inactive Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma. She was the first African-American woman to be sworn in as United States ...

. Horner held the position of Democratic Caucus Chair, as well as Chair of Business and Labor and Government Operations, and Vice-Chair of Adult Literacy.

Biography

Horner was born in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

on January 17, 1933. She graduated from Booker T. Washington High School, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, attended

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 ...

Marshall, Texas Marshall is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat of Harrison County, Texas, Harrison County and a cultural and educational center of the Ark-La-Tex region. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the population of M ...

and received her BA from

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 missio ...

. She was married to the late Donald M. Horner and they have two children, Shari Tisdale, and Donald M Horner Jr. She has several grandchildren; her first grandchild, Corey Tisdale, was a political staffer for Congressman

Dan Boren David Daniel Boren (born August 2, 1973) is the Secretary of Commerce for the Chickasaw Nation, based in Oklahoma. He is a retired American politician, who served as the U.S. Representative for from 2005 to 2013. The district included most of th ...

. Horner was elected to the Oklahoma State Senate in 1986 and served for over 18 years until 2005, when she retired due to term limits. During her time in office, she played a major role in passing legislation that created OHLAP, the Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Program, which funds scholarships to Oklahoma colleges for students from families that earn $50,000 or less in income. Some committees Horner served on include Business and Labor (Chair), Government Operations (Chair), Adult Literacy (Vice Chair), Appropriations, Education, Tourism, Congressional Redistricting, Rules and Tourism. Credited with legislation founding the

Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame The Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame, located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is a non-profit organization that honors jazz, blues and gospel music, gospel musicians in the state of Oklahoma. Housed in the former Union Depot (Tulsa, Oklahoma), Tulsa Union Depot, wh ...

, she is best known for her commitment to education and the arts. Horner was inducted in the

Oklahoma Women's Hall of Fame Oklahoma Women's Hall of Fame was established in 1982 by Oklahoma Governor George Nigh "to honor Oklahoma women who are pioneers in their field or in a project that benefits Oklahoma; who have made a significant contribution to the State of Oklahoma ...

in 2007, the Oklahoma Afro-American Hall of Fame in 1999, and received the Pinnacle Award from the Tulsa Mayor's Commission on the Status of Women in 1993. She died on February 7, 2021, twenty one days after her 88th birthday.

References

External links

Women of the Oklahoma Legislature Oral History Project -- OSU LibraryVoices of Oklahoma interview.
First person interview conducted on November 14, 2019, with Maxine Horner. African-American state legislators in Oklahoma African-American women in politics Democratic Party Oklahoma state senators Women state legislators in Oklahoma Wiley College alumni Langston University alumni 1933 births 2021 deaths Politicians from Tulsa, Oklahoma 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women {{Oklahoma-politician-stub