Former state Sen. Roy C. “Invoice” Lewellen of Marianna dies

The Democratic Occasion of Arkansas sends out the unhappy information in regards to the demise of lawyer and legislator Sen. Roy C. “Invoice” Lewellen. He was 71.

From the social gathering’s launch:

Considered one of two Black attorneys in Lee County, Roy C. “Invoice” Lewellen was a powerful advocate for equal illustration and remedy in his neighborhood, serving as a Marianna metropolis councilman earlier than election to the state Senate in 1990. He served for 10 years within the Senate and was the second Black individual to serve within the Arkansas Senate within the twentieth century. He was the sponsor of the legislation that created the Minority Well being Fee in Arkansas.

In 1992, after his first session within the Senate, he served as an lawyer for the Lake View College District of their historic struggle for an equitable and environment friendly public faculty system.

After leaving the Senate, Lewellen continued to advocate for small rural faculty districts dealing with consolidation and inequitable remedy.

“Invoice Lewellen was a pal and mentor from my earliest days as a reporter masking the State Capitol,” mentioned Democratic Occasion of Arkansas Chair Grant Tennille. “If I used to be confused over the true motivations behind any piece of laws, Senator Lewellen was the one who set me straight. On the similar time, Invoice was reliably hilarious, usually at my expense, and I’ll miss his laughter most of all.”

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