Kentucky State University alumnus Tom Colbert make Oklahoma history when he was elected the first African-American chief justice of the state's Supreme Court.
Colbert's groundbreaking two-year term begins in January.
In 2004, Colbert was the first African-American justice ever appointed to the state's Supreme Court.
He was appointed in 2000 to serve as a judge on the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals, where he was also the first African-American appointee.
A native of Oklahoma City, Colbert earned his bachelor's degree in 1973 from Kentucky State University, where he was also named an All-American in track and field.
After serving in the U.S. Army, he earned his master's degree in education in 1976 from Eastern Kentucky University and then taught in Chicago's public schools.
He received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Oklahoma in 1982 and subsequently served as assistant dead at the Marquette University Law School.
Colbert began his law career as an assistant Oklahoma County district attorney in 1984 and also maintained a private law practice in Oklahoma City until 2000.
