OKLAHOMA CITY – Rep. Michelle McCane, D-Tulsa, released the following statement after the Oklahoma Senate passed SR 13 to recognize Russell M. Perry as the Oklahoma Secretary of Commerce in 1999 and his lifetime work on the social and economic development of Oklahoma.
“I want to thank the Senate for recognizing my Great Uncle Russell Perry for his service as the acting Oklahoma Secretary of Commerce in the 90s and officially confirming him as the actual Secretary of Commerce for that time period,” McCane said. “It takes strong leadership to recognize an error of the past and correct it. My family and I are grateful his legacy will now be remembered for what it was.”
Russell M. Perry served as the Oklahoma Secretary of Commerce in 1999 and was the first African American to hold that position in Oklahoma. Perry founded prolific publications in Oklahoma such as the Black Chronicle and Perry Publishing and Broadcasting Company.
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