Winter Edition, Volume 2, Issue 1: Melvin Combs, Jr. | Trailblazer Award

Melvin Comb, Jr. is the recipient of the Oklahoma Bar Association (OBA) Trailblazer Award for making a profound impact on the legal profession by paving the way for more African American law students to pass the bar exam. He did not pass the bar exam on his first attempt in the early 1970s, and he was determined to make sure that other African American law students were prepared to take and pass the bar.

Mr. Combs, Herbert Graves and William Sullivan formed the first integrated law firm in Oklahoma in 1974. He began using the firm’s law library at night and on the weekends to tutor African American law students. Since then, he has helped more than 100 students prepare for and pass the Oklahoma bar exam without seeking compensation or recognition. He received his J.D. from the Oklahoma City University School of Law in 1972