State Rep. Darrio Melton has been honored as the 2015 Legislator of the Year by the NAACP.

The award was given during the organization’s 63rd annual state convention in Mobile on Saturday.

“I’m honored to be recognized by such an esteemed organization that has stood at the forefront of so many of our nation’s victories,” Melton said.

The NAACP is a national civil rights organization, founded in 1909 whose mission is “to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate racial hatred and racial discrimination.”

“The Alabama State Conference of the NAACP is very proud to present the Legislator of the Year Award to Rep Melton. His work with the NAACP in working towards a minimum wage in Alabama is of special note,” said Benard Simelton, NAACP state president. “He has been out front pushing the same issues that are near and dear to the NAACP, and we thank him for that,”

Melton said plans to reintroduce his bill to increase the minimum wage in the 2016 legislative session and sponsor legislation to establish procedures for early voting, voting by mail and online or automatic voter registration.

“These issues aren’t just about racial divides — they’re about social and economic divides that pull our state and country apart rather than pull us closer to one nation under God,” Melton said.