Phi Beta Sigma’s Morris Overstreet Became the First Black Person Elected to Statewide Office in Texas History

Did you know that the first African American ever elected to statewide office in the history of Texas was a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.? His name was Morris Overstreet, and in 1990 he made history on the state’s highest criminal court.

Morris Lee Overstreet was born on July 10, 1950, in Amarillo, Texas. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Angelo State University in 1972 and went on to earn his law degree from Texas Southern University in Houston, home of the historically Black Thurgood Marshall School of Law, passing the bar in 1975.

Overstreet was a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., which was founded in 1914 at Howard University. According to his obituary, he was a senior brother of the fraternity’s Alpha Sigma Sigma chapter and served as the fraternity’s National Legal Counsel, and he took great pride when his grandson later joined the same brotherhood.

According to the Defender Network, he began his legal career as a prosecutor in the Potter County District Attorney’s office, where he rose to become the first African American First Assistant District Attorney in the county. In 1986 he was elected presiding judge of the Potter County Court.

Then came the moment that made history. On November 6, 1990, Overstreet was elected to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the state’s highest court for criminal cases. As BlackPast records, he became the first African American ever elected to a statewide office in the history of the State of Texas. He was re-elected and served on the court until 1998, authoring more than 500 opinions during his tenure, a legacy later honored by a resolution of the Texas House of Representatives.

After leaving the bench, Overstreet returned to Texas Southern University, teaching at the Thurgood Marshall School of Law and leading its legal clinic, pouring his experience back into the next generation of Black lawyers.

According to Houston Public Media, Morris Overstreet died on March 3, 2024, at the age of 73. From Texas Southern University to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Phi Beta Sigma’s Morris Overstreet opened a door in Texas politics that had been closed to Black Texans for the entire history of the state.