Raymond D. Gary - Political Career

Political Career

Gary was a member of the Oklahoma Senate from 1941 until he became Governor January 10, 1955, for a four-year-term.

U.S. Route 66 through Clinton, Oklahoma is locally designated as Gary Freeway or Gary Boulevard in honor of the former governor in commemoration of Gary's promises and efforts to push for improvements of US-66 into a four-lane highway through Western Oklahoma during his administration. Those efforts ultimately led to US-66 being transformed into Interstate 40, which bypasses Clinton's south side. Gary Boulevard is also designated as Clinton's I-40 Business Loop.

Gary also led and supported efforts to improve the state highway system in all areas of Oklahoma during his tenure as governor, particularly the major highways that criscrossed the state and expressway routes through the two largest cities, Oklahoma City and Tulsa. It was during Gary's tenure that the Oklahoma Department of Transportation oversaw efforts to survey and approve the routes of the Interstate Highway System through the state including east-west Interstate 40 and north-south Interstate 35.

One of his first actions was to order the "whites only" and "colored only" signs removed from the Capitol's restrooms. He also declared his intent to make the state comply with the 1954 Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education, which declared segregation in the public schools unconstitutional. In a statewide radio address, he said: "I feel sure that defiance of the Supreme Court mandate will not be tolerated. School boards which might entertain such ideas will find themselves on their own. Certainly the State of Oklahoma cannot possibly defend such action." As part of his effort, he won passage of an amendment to the state Constitution that discarded the financing of separate schools for whites and blacks. He reportedly said, "You know, this is the right thing to do. We're all God’s children, and that's what we're going to do.”