Douglas Leavon Anderson (February 18, 1939 – April 13, 2013) was an American educator and politician from

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

. Anderson, a Democrat, was first elected to the

Mississippi House of Representatives The Mississippi House of Representatives is the lower house of the Mississippi Legislature, the lawmaking body of the U.S. state of Mississippi. According to the state constitution of 1890, it is to comprise no more than 122 members elected for ...

in 1976. He served in that office until 1980, when he won election to the

Mississippi State Senate The Mississippi State Senate is the upper house of the Mississippi Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The Senate, along with the Lower house, lower Mississippi House of Represen ...

. He served in the State Senate until 1992. Anderson was born in

Hinds County, Mississippi Hinds County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. With its county seats (Raymond and the state's capital, Jackson), Hinds is the most populous county in Mississippi with a 2020 census population of 227,742 residents. Hinds Co ...

. He attended

Dillard University Dillard University is a private, historically black university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded in 1930 and incorporating earlier institutions founded as early as 1869 after the American Civil War, it is affiliated with the United Church of C ...

(B.S.) and Oklahoma University (M.S.).https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt2tvh56 Elected in 1976, Anderson, Horace Buckley and Fred Banks were among the first four African-Americans elected to the

Mississippi Legislature The Mississippi Legislature is the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The bicameral Legislature is composed of the Lower house, lower Mississippi House of Representatives, with 122 members, and ...

in the twentieth century after Robert G. Clark Jr., who was elected in 1967. He served from 1994 until his death in 2013 on the Hinds County Board of Supervisors. Anderson taught in public schools in

Meridian, Mississippi Meridian is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, eighth most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, with a population of 35,052 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the county seat of Lauderdale County, Mississippi, ...

and his native

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city sits on the Pearl River (Mississippi–Louisiana), Pearl River and is locate ...

and as an associate professor of mathematics at

Jackson State University Jackson State University (Jackson State or JSU) is a Public university, public Historically Black colleges and universities, historically black research university in Jackson, Mississippi. It is a member of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and ...

from 1965 to 1987.

References

1939 births 2013 deaths Politicians from Jackson, Mississippi Democratic Party members of the Mississippi House of Representatives Democratic Party Mississippi state senators African-American state legislators in Mississippi County supervisors in Mississippi Schoolteachers from Mississippi African-American schoolteachers Dillard University alumni University of Oklahoma alumni Jackson State University faculty 20th-century African-American politicians 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century Mississippi politicians 20th-century members of the Mississippi Legislature {{Mississippi-politician-stub