Thelma Marie Claybrooks Harper (December 2, 1940 – April 22, 2021) was an American politician and the first African-American woman state senator in Tennessee. First elected in 1989, she was the longest-serving female state senator in Tennessee history. She continued to break the glass ceiling by becoming the first woman to preside over the Senate. She was also the first African-American woman to serve as the chair of the Senate Government Operations Committee; she held that position during the 102nd, 103rd, 104th, and 105th General Assemblies, and she also served as vice chair of the Senate State and Local Government Committee during the 97th and 101st General Assemblies and the first senator to serve as chair of the Tennessee Black Caucus.