James Merilus Simms (December 27, 1823, Savannah, Georgia – July 9, 1912, Savannah) was an African-American minister, newspaper publisher, author, and elected representative in the Georgia Assembly during the Reconstruction Era. Simms and his African-American colleagues in the Georgia Assembly were prohibited from taking office after a vote by their colleagues. Federal intervention in 1870 overturned the discriminatory action. He wrote about his church's history in Savannah, Georgia.