Mervyn M. Dymally Mervyn Malcolm Dymally, Ph.D. (born May 12, 1926 in Cedros, Trinidad and Tobago) is a Californian politician of mixed Indo- and Afro-Trinidadian heritage. Currently a member of the California State Assembly, Dymally was previously a member of the United States House of Representatives, the first African American to serve as Lieutenant Governor of California and the first African American to serve in the California State Senate. As a member of the House of Representative, he was the first foreign-born black Member of Congress and one of the first persons of Indian origin to serve in the U.S. Congress. Dymally received his secondary education at Naparima College, San Fernando, Trinidad, his undergraduate education at Lincoln University, Jefferson City, Missouri and Los Angeles State College, his Master's degree from California State University, Sacramento, and his doctorate from United States International University (now Alliant International University), San Diego.
