Albert Comstock Hamlin (February 10, 1881 – August 29, 1912) was the first African American elected 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 lost his re-election bid as a direct result of a constitutional amendment that prevented many black Oklahomans from voting.Bruce, Michael L. "Hamlin, Albert Comstock (1881-1912)" http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/H/HA015.html , Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, Oklahoma Historical Society. (accessed April 17, 2013) Hamlin was buried in

Logan County, Oklahoma Logan County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 49,555. Its county seat is Guthrie, Oklahoma, Guthrie. Logan County is part of the Okl ...

Early life

Born in

Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeastern Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2020 cen ...

, to former slaves Andrew Jackson and Fanny Hamlin, A. C. Hamlin arrived in Oklahoma Territory in 1890 with the family. He married Katie Weaver in 1899 and had five children. Before his election to the

, Hamlin served on a school board and a town trustee.

Political career

Hamlin won a seat in the

Oklahoma House of Representatives The Oklahoma House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its members introduce and vote on bills and resolutions, provide legislative oversight for state agencies, and help to craft the state's ...

in 1908 due to the large predominance of African Americans in the

district. Oklahoma Democratic politicians were determined to keep African Americans from rising in society, as evidenced by the leader of the constitutional convention who exclaimed that blacks would always remain bootblacks, barbers and farmers.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) Despite his dual minority status as an African-American and a Republican, Hamlin was able to receive support for bills to provide funding for a black school in his district, address unequal facilities for black and white railroad passengers, and prohibit certain activities on Sunday. Hamlin lost a bid for reelection in 1910 after a constitutional amendment limited black voters by creating voter registration requirements including literacy and registration of individuals or their ancestors prior to January 1, 1866. Known as the "grandfather clause," the amendment was declared unconstitutional by the 1915 '' Guinn v. United States'' case. The "grandfather clause" was responsible for an exodus of African-Americans from

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Death and legacy

Hamlin died August 29, 1912, of unknown causes on his farm, and was buried in Robinson Cemetery in

. The Hamlin family cemetery plot includes his headstone and the headstone of a G. H. Hamlin.Albert Comstock (A.C.) Hamlin - Robinson A.M.E. Cemetery - Logan County, OK
Grave of a Famous Person on Waymarking.com. (accessed July 7, 2013) On February 21, 2009, the Logan County state representative introduced an amendment to name a part of Interstate 35 from Waterloo to Charter Road in southern Logan County as the "A.C. Hamlin Parkway". The amendment won approval as part of House Bill 2691 as was signed by Oklahoma Governor

Brad Henry Charles Bradford Henry (born July 10, 1963) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 26th governor of Oklahoma from 2003 to 2011. A Democrat, he previously served in the Oklahoma Senate from 1992 to 2003. As of 2025, he is the last ...

. In May 2015, the

Oklahoma Department of Transportation The Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) is an government agency, agency of the government of Oklahoma responsible for the construction and maintenance of the state's transportation infrastructure. Under the leadership of the Oklahoma Se ...

placed signage denoting the designation. As of 2023, the 24th biennial awards banquet named for A. C. Hamlin was held by Oklahoma's Legislative Black Caucus, composed of

Oklahoma House The Oklahoma House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its members introduce and vote on bills and resolutions, provide legislative oversight for state agencies, and help to craft the state's b ...

and

State Senate In the United States, the state legislature is the legislative branch in each of the 50 U.S. states. A legislature generally performs state duties for a state in the same way that the United States Congress performs national duties at ...

black elected officials. Oklahoma Governor

Mary Fallin Mary Fallin (; née Copeland; born December 9, 1954) is an American politician who served as the 27th governor of Oklahoma from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, she was elected in 2010 Oklahoma gub ...

signed a bill designating "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" as the official gospel song of Oklahoma during the 2011 banquet. Former Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating authored a July 2020 editorial in

The Oklahoman ''The Oklahoman'' is the largest daily newspaper in Oklahoma, United States, and is the only regional daily that covers the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, Greater Oklahoma City area. The Alliance for Audited Media (formerly Audit Bureau Circul ...

advocating that

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

rename the then-named Murray Hall after A.C. Hamlin. The university ultimately decided on a different name for the campus buildings.

References

External links

Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture: Hamlin, Albert Comstock (1881-1912)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamlin, A.C. 1881 births 1912 deaths Politicians from Topeka, Kansas People from Logan County, Oklahoma School board members in Oklahoma African-American state legislators in Oklahoma Republican Party members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives 20th-century African-American politicians 20th-century members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives

Early life

Political career

Death and legacy

See also

References

External links