The Mississippi Secretary of State is an officer of Mississippi originally established under the Article IV, §14 of Mississippi Constitution of 1817, and was reestablished under Article V, §133 of the Mississippi Constitution of 1890. Several African Americans served in the office during the Reconstruction era: James D. Lynch, Hiram Revels, H. C. Carter, M. M. McLeod, and James Hill. The current secretary of state is Michael Watson.