Carl Sims, Sr.

Legislative Resolution

View Legislative Resolution File for Carl Sims, Sr.

Biographical Information

The following is from the City of Phoenix African American Historic Property Survey prepared by David R. Dean and Jean A. Reynolds (Mesa, AZ: Athenaeum Public History Group, 2004), p. 82-83:

Carl Sims, who was elected to the House or Representatives for District 22 along with Hayzel Daniels in 1950, was born in Texas in 1911 and moved to Phoenix in 1927.  He worked as a painting contractor and lived at 1303 W. Magnolia.  As a legislator and a member of the NAACP, he was active in the push for school desegregation.  In fact, two of his children were part of the teams of students who attempted to register at predominantly White schools in 1951, during the start of the NAACP’s legal campaign to desegregate.  Sims, a Democrat, served in the legislature until 1960.  He later moved to California, where he passed away in 1968.

The following is from the Legislative death resolution:

On the twenty-eighth day of May, 1968, at the age of fifty-six, the Honorable Carl Sims, passed away in the City of Fresno, California.

Mr. Sims was a native of Bremond, Texas, and came to Arizona in 1927.  He received his education in his native State of Texas.

During his many years in Arizona, Mr. Sims was active in many endeavors.  He was one of Arizona's early champions of civil rights, believing in equality for all men in public places.

Mr. Sims enjoyed success in various fields.  He served eight years in the County Highway Department, and also served with the Maricopa County Sheriffs' Office as a deputy sheriff.  In later years, Mr. Sims' main occupation was that of a painting contractor.

Mr. Sims served with distinction in the Twentieth, Twenty-first, Twenty-second, Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth Legislatures of the Arizona House of Representatives during the period of 1951 through 1960.  He served on several Standing Committees, including Livestock and Public Lands, Suffrage and Elections, Public Defense and Veterans' Affairs, Arizona Development Committee, Highways and Bridges Committee and Ways and Means Committee.  During his long tenure in the Arizona House of Representatives, Mr. Sims is credited with the sponsorship and passage of bills on boating safety and the sponsorship of Arizona's first rabies control bill which became law in 1962.

Employment

Arizona Legislative Service

Sources

Birth:  AZ Leg Bio sheet, CA death index had DOB 9/20/1912; Death: CA death index: Carl Sims, Legislative death resolution; Occupation(s): Legislative death resolution