Ulysses Currie (July 10, 1937 – December 27, 2019) was an American politician from

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented District 25 in

Prince George's County Prince George's County (often shortened to PG County or PG) is located in the U.S. state of Maryland bordering the eastern portion of Washington, D.C. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 967,201, making it the second-most populous ...

, first in the house of delegates from 1987 to 1995, then in the

senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

from 1995 to 2019. Currie was the Chair of the Budget and Taxation Committee before having to resign the chairmanship because of an ethics violation.

Background

Currie, the son of a

sharecropper Sharecropping is a legal arrangement in which a landowner allows a tenant (sharecropper) to use the land in return for a share of the crops produced on that land. Sharecropping is not to be conflated with tenant farming, providing the tenant a ...

, grew up in

Whiteville, North Carolina Whiteville is the county seat and the most populous city in Columbus County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 5,394 at the 2010 census. History Columbus County was created in 1808. In 1810, an act authorized James Bunbury Whi ...

. He was the first of his family to go to college and earned his undergraduate degree from

North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' ...

. He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

from 1960 to 1963, and was stationed at

Fort Dix Fort Dix, the common name for the Army Support Activity (ASA) located at Joint Base McGuire–Dix–Lakehurst, is a United States Army post. It is located south-southeast of Trenton, New Jersey. Fort Dix is under the jurisdiction of the Air Fo ...

and in Germany. After serving in the army, he moved to the

Washington metropolitan area The Washington metropolitan area, also referred to as the National Capital Region, Greater Washington, or locally as the DMV (short for Washington, D.C., District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia), is the metropolitan area comprising Washing ...

to attend

American University The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...

. Currie worked for 25 years as an educator in

Prince George's County Public Schools Prince George's County Public Schools (PGCPS) is a public school district that serves Prince George's County, Maryland. During the 2023–24 academic year, the district enrolled around 133,000 students and operated over 200 schools. PGCPS is t ...

In the legislature

Currie was originally elected to the House of Delegates in 1986, representing District 25 in Prince George's County. During his time in the house, he became

Majority Whip A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline (that members of the party vote according to the party platform rather than their constituents, individual conscience or donors) in a legislature. Whips a ...

, the 3rd-ranking position in the House after the Speaker and the Majority Leader. Currie was elected to his seat in the State Senate in 1994. He was a member of the Budget and Taxation Committee.

FBI investigation

On May 29, 2008, it was reported that the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

had searched Currie's District Heights home and taken documents related to his work as a consultant to

Shoppers Food & Pharmacy Shoppers Food & Pharmacy, also known as Shoppers Food Warehouse, is a chain of 22 supermarkets located in the Baltimore and Washington, D.C., metropolitan areas. Shoppers has fresh produce, Swift Angus beef, Smithfield natural pork, all-natural c ...

. On September 1, 2010, a federal grand jury indicted Currie and Shoppers Food Warehouse Corporation executives William J. White and R. Kevin Small in connection with a scheme from 2002 to 2008 in which the supermarket chain allegedly paid Senator Currie in exchange for using his official position and influence in matters benefitting White, Small, and the supermarket chain. Currie was acquitted on November 8, 2011. However, in 2012 he was

censured A censure is an expression of strong disapproval or harsh criticism. In parliamentary procedure, it is a debatable main motion that could be adopted by a majority vote. Among the forms that it can take are a stern rebuke by a legislature, a spir ...

by the state senate for ethics violations from facts discovered during the investigation, and was forced to resign from the chairmanship of the Budget and Taxation Committee.

Later years and death

On June 1, 2018, Maryland's

Head Start Program Head Start is a program of the United States Department of Health and Human Services that provides comprehensive early childhood education, health, nutrition, and parent involvement services to low-income children and families. It is the olde ...

was renamed the Ulysses Currie Head Start Program to honor Senator Currie. Currie died early on December 27, 2019. He was 84.

References

External links

* 1935 births 2019 deaths Democratic Party Maryland state senators United States Army soldiers American University alumni North Carolina A&T State University alumni American educators People from Whiteville, North Carolina People from District Heights, Maryland Military personnel from Maryland Military personnel from North Carolina African-American state legislators in Maryland 20th-century African-American politicians 21st-century African-American politicians Politicians from Prince George's County, Maryland 20th-century members of the Maryland General Assembly 21st-century members of the Maryland General Assembly {{Maryland-politician-stub