Longtime OSSAA staff member David Jackson made history Wednesday morning.

He was officially approved as the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association (OSSAA) executive director by the board of directors, becoming the organization's first black director and only the fourth black director of a school activities organization in the nation.

“I'm really honored by that, that the board had that confidence,” Jackson said. “It's an honor for me not only to be the first black executive director, but just to be chosen as the executive director. It's quite humbling and an honor for me.”

Jackson has spent the past month as the interim director, but the board made it clear it intended to approve him as the full-time director.

Jackson, 54, joined the OSSAA in 1996. He coached football, basketball and track and field at Pauls Valley. He was named the school's high school principal in 1990.