Green I. 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.Oklahoma ...

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 the former western portion of the federal Indian Territory, which had decades earlier since the 1830s been assigned to the Creek and Seminole native peoples. The ...

and served as the Grand Master of the St. John Grand Lodge of Oklahoma,

Prince Hall Freemasonry Prince Hall Freemasonry is a branch of North American Freemasonry created for African Americans, founded by Prince Hall on September 29, 1784. Prince Hall Freemasonry is the oldest and largest (300,000+ initiated members) predominantly African-A ...

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 U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

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

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

and

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

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

Political career

A Republican, 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 career

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 Oklahoma. He was elected in 1901 as the new Grand Master after a schism occurred within Prince Hall freemasonry in Oklahoma with arguments over whether there should be two separate Grand Lodges for the Oklahoma and

Indian Territory Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United States, ...

, as there were national discussions about Indian Territory becoming a separate state. Currin and several others split off and formed a new Grand Lodge of Oklahoma (not including the lodges in Indian Territory) where he became Grand Master. 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 1,091 at the 2020 Census. Boley was incorporated in 1905 as a predominantly Black pioneer town with persons having Native American ancestry among its citizens. Of th ...

.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

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 and the westernmost four-year public HBCU in the United States. The main campus in Lan ...

. Currin was alive for

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 ...

statehood in 1907 and the election of A. C. Hamlin 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 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 ...

.Finkelman, Paul. "Oklahoma," Encyclopedia of African American History, 1896 to the Present, Volume 1. Oxford University Press, 2009. , 9780195167795

Death and legacy

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 b ...

on October 21, 1918, and was buried in Burns cemetery. In 2007, a portrait dedicated to Currin was unveiled at the Oklahoma State Legislature.

References