List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Oklahoma explained

This is a list of the first minority male lawyer(s) and judge(s) in Oklahoma. It includes the year in which the men were admitted to practice law (in parentheses). Also included are men who achieved other distinctions such becoming the first in their state to graduate from law school or become a political figure.

Firsts in state history

Lawyers

• First known African American/Creek Freedmen male to practice: Sugar T. George (c. 1870s)^{[1] [2]}
• First Cherokee Indian male: Simon R. Walking-Stick (c. 1893)^[3]
• First African American male (admitted to state bar): Buck Colbert (B.C.) Franklin (1908)^{[4] [5]}
• First undocumented male: Javier Hernandez in 2019^{[6] [7]}

State judges

• First African American male: Charles L. Owens (1960) in 1968^{[8] [9] [10]}
• First African American male (elected): Amos T. Hall in 1970^{[11] [12]}
• First African American male: David Lewis in 2004^{[13] [14]} (2004)
• First African American male (Supreme Court of Oklahoma): Tom Colbert (1982) in 2004^{[15] [16] [17]}
• First African American male (Presiding Judge; Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals): David Lewis
• First African American male (Chief Justice; Supreme Court of Oklahoma): Tom Colbert (1982) in 2013
• First Native American (Chickasaw Nation) male (Supreme Court of Oklahoma): Dustin Rowe in 2019^[18]

Federal judges

• First Native American male (Cherokee Nation) (United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma): Frank Howell Seay in 1979^[19]
• First Native American (Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma) male (U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, Northern District of Oklahoma, and Western District of Oklahoma): Michael Burrage (1974) beginning 1994^{[20] [21]}
• First African American male (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit): Jerome Holmes (1988) in 2006^[22]
• First African American male (United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma): Bernard M. Jones in 2019^[23]

Assistant Attorney General

• First African American male: Charles L. Owens (1960) in 1963

Political Office

• First African American male (Oklahoma State Senate): E. Melvin Porter (1960) in 1964^{[24] [25]}

Firsts in local history

• David Lewis: First African American male to serve as a district judge in Comanche County, Oklahoma (1999)
• Steve Pazzo:^[26] First Hispanic American male judge in Rogers County, Oklahoma (2010)
• Carlos Chappelle:^[27] First African American male to serve as a Presiding District Judge in Tulsa County, Oklahoma (2013)

See also

• List of first minority male lawyers and judges in the United States

Other topics of interest

• List of first women lawyers and judges in the United States
• List of first women lawyers and judges in Oklahoma

Notes and References

1. Book: Smith, J. Clay Jr.. Emancipation: The Making of the Black Lawyer, 1844-1944. 1999. University of Pennsylvania Press. 0812216857. en.
2. Book: Critical Voicings of Black Liberation: Resistance and Representations in the Americas. Phillips. Kimberley Louise. Pinson. Hermine D.. 2003. LIT Verlag Münster. 9783825867393. en.
3. Book: The American Lawyer. Smith. Frank Charles. Proctor. Lucien Brock. Chapin. Heman Gerald. Harvey. Richard Selden. 1893-01-01. Stumpf & Steurer.
4. Book: Ph.D, Reed Ueda. America's Changing Neighborhoods: An Exploration of Diversity through Places [3 volumes]]. 2017-09-21. ABC-CLIO. 9781440828652. en.
5. Web site: Franklin, Buck Colbert (1879–1960) The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed. blackpast.org. en. 2018-11-14.
6. Web site: Rios . Miguel . Cover: Shadow of doubt . 2022-10-26 . Oklahoma Gazette . en.
7. Web site: Fox . Carrie . September 8, 2021 . History Hiding in Plain Sight . 2022-10-26 . www.smithsonianmag.com . en.
8. Web site: Charles Owens's Obituary on Oklahoman. Oklahoman. 2018-01-11.
9. News: Charles L. Owens, state's first appointed black judge, dies at 86. 2016-05-27. NewsOK.com. 2018-01-11.
10. News: First African-American judge in Oklahoma dies at 86. 2016-06-01. KOCO. 2018-11-14. en.
11. News: Trailblazer's son speaks about black history. Norman Transcript. 2018-11-14. en.
12. Web site: Hall, Amos T. The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. www.okhistory.org. en. 2018-11-14.
13. Web site: Celebrating Presiding Judge David Lewis – OCCA. okcca.net. 2020-03-14.
14. Web site: Mercadante. Natascha. Lawton Legends: David Lewis. 2022-02-05. KSWO. en.
15. News: Oklahoma's first black chief justice stresses importance of role models. 2013-01-04. NewsOK.com. 2018-11-13. en-US.
16. Web site: Tom Colbert becomes chief justice of Oklahoma state Supreme Court The City Sentinel. city-sentinel.com. en-US. 2018-11-13.
17. Upon Colbert's appointment as an Associate Justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court in 2004
18. Web site: Courting an Indigenous world view . 2022-05-17 . Indian Country Today . en.
19. Baca . Lawrence . 2010 . President's Message: 35 Years of the FBA Indian Law Conference . The Federal Lawyer.
20. Book: Analyzing American Democracy: Politics and Political Science. Bond. Jon R.. Smith. Kevin B.. 2013-05-29. Routledge. 978-1135093327.
21. Book: American Indian Report. 2003. Falmouth Institute.
22. News: 2014-08-10 . Oklahoma judge on 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals defies expectations in same-sex marriage case . NewsOK.com . 2018-01-19.
23. Web site: Senator Lankford Celebrates Black History Month by Honoring Oklahomans. 2020-02-14. Just The Real News Network. en-US. 2020-02-28.
24. Web site: Porter, Edward Melvin The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. www.okhistory.org. en. 2018-11-13.
25. News: Oklahoma's first black state senator dies. 2016-07-26. NewsOK.com. 2018-11-13. en-US.
26. Web site: First Hispanic judge to serve county. November 16, 2010. Claremore Daily Progress. en. 2019-01-17.
27. Web site: BRAUN. BILL. Carlos Chappelle to become Tulsa County's first black presiding judge. 2022-02-05. Tulsa World. en.