Albert Comstock (A.C.) Hamlin - Robinson A.M.E. Cemetery - Logan County, OK
Posted by: 
hamquilter
N 35° 46.985 W 097° 20.208
14S E 650316 N 3961165
In a small, unobtrusive rural cemetery lies A. C. Hamlin, the first African American elected to the Oklahoma State Legislature.
Waymark Code: WMCEZW
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 08/30/2011
Views: 7
Albert Comstock (A.C.) Hamlin was born in Topeka, Kansas on February 10, 1881. His family came to Oklahoma in 1890, shortly after the Indian Territory was opened for settlement. As a young adult, A.C. was active in local church business and local politics. In 1908 he made history when he was elected to the Oklahoma State Legislature, the first black man to do so, and the only black man to serve in this capacity until 1964.
During his short tenure in the legislature, he was instrumental in legislation which funded a State School for Deaf, Blind and Orphaned Colored Children in Taft, Oklahoma. He also was behind a bill that gave greater equality of service to blacks on the state's railroads.
In 1910, new laws were enacted in the all-white legislature that set up reading requirements for voting that resulted in diminishing the eligible black voting population, and Hamlin was not re-elected.
The Oklahoma Black Caucus sponsors a Biennial A.C. Hamlin Awards Banquet which honors people who have made extraordinary efforts to advance the agenda of the black caucus, or who have served their community. In April 2011, Governor Mary Fallin signed a law at the banquet that made "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" the official Oklahoma Gospel Song. This song was written in Indian Territory in 1862 by Wallis Willis, a Choctaw Freedman.
In the Hamlin family cemetery plot, there is an additional headstone for G. H. Hamlin, born 5/29/1888, who was most likely A.C.'s brother. This cemetery is located on the southwest corner of Westminster Avenue and Seward Road (Forest Hills Road) in southern Logan County, north of Arcadia. A rock A.M.E. church once stood east of the cemetery, but burned a few years ago. The cemetery is difficult to spot from the road. Enter off Westminster at the southeast corner of the cemetery.
Description:
See narrative
Date of birth: 02/10/1881
Date of death: 08/29/1912
Area of notoriety: Politics
Marker Type: Headstone
Setting: Outdoor
Fee required?: No
Web site: [Web Link]
Visiting Hours/Restrictions: Not listed
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