Maxine Edwyna Cissel Horner (January 17, 1933 – February 7, 2021) was one of the first African American women to serve in the
Oklahoma 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. 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 List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...
Wiley College
Wiley University (formerly 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 ...
in
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 ...
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 and the westernmost four-year public HBCU in the United States. The main campus in Lan ...
. 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 a Native American businessman and politician who 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 fo ...
.
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 musicians in the state of Oklahoma. Housed in the former Tulsa Union Depot, which it now calls the Jazz Depot, the Hall ...
, 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 Oklaho ...
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.