T.W. Shannon Will Be Sworn In As Oklahoma’s First Black Speaker of the House

By Victor Trammell

Republican State Representative T.W. Shannon (pictured) will be sworn in Tuesday as Oklahoma’s next Speaker of the House.

Shannon, 34, has been an elected member of the Oklahoma State Legislature for six years representing a district in Lawton, Oklahoma. In addition to being in politics, Shannon also works as a business consultant and graduated from the Oklahoma City University School of Law. Shannon will be the first African American Oklahoma Speaker of the House. At 34, he is among one of the youngest state politicians in the country.

T.W. Shannon released a statement to NewsOk.com about his victory and the upcoming session with the Oklahoma State Legislature. Below is an excerpt of the statement:

“My goal next session is to hopefully be a voice of reason and also to be  continuing to push for a conservative agenda that also provides for economic  growth in the state. I’m confident we’ll be able to do it …

I’m honored to be the speaker and the fact that I’m the first  African-American, it says a lot about my colleagues who were willing to trust  me. But I know that they didn’t do it because of my race or even in spite of my  race. They did it because they believe I’ve got some ideas and some leadership  abilities that can help, A, unite this caucus and, B, hopefully provide  leadership to the entire Legislature.

My race and ethnic heritage, it’s a part of who I am. But I represent the  people of District 62 and I represent all the people of Oklahoma.”