OHS EXTRA! - Remembering safe havens

Oklahoma Historical Society sent this bulletin at 01/26/2022 05:00 AM CST

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History Center Research Museums & Sites Preservation Publications

January 26, 2022

Celebrate Black History Month with us!

The Oklahoma Historical Society will host a free presentation on Thursday, February 10, at noon (CST). Tune in on Zoom to hear from guest speaker Nicka Smith (citizen of the Cherokee Nation). Smith will present “From Tulsa to Beyond: African American Genealogy in the Indian Territory and Oklahoma.”

Attendees will learn how to research the lives of their ancestors using tribal records (Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee, and Seminole), federal records, newspapers, college/university collections, historical society records, and more! Smith’s understanding of these records will help those researching family trees to discover deep roots in the Sooner State.

Register for "From Tulsa to Beyond"

A Very OK Podcast LIVE All-Black Towns with photos of the presenters

Join the Oklahoma Historical Society (OHS) on Thursday, February 10, at 6 p.m. at the Oklahoma History Center in Oklahoma City for a live podcast event. OHS Executive Director Trait Thompson and Dr. Bob Blackburn of the OHS’s A Very OK Podcast will interview Henrietta Hicks of Boley, Shirley Nero of Clearview, and Oklahoma Senator Kevin Matthews of Tulsa about Oklahoma’s historic All-Black towns. This free event will be recorded in front of a live audience.

Beginning at 6 p.m. guests can enjoy complimentary beer and wine, and the panelists will be available for discussion. The live recording of A Very OK Podcast will start at 6:30 p.m. Registration is required, and attendees must be 21 years old or older.

Register for the LIVE podcast event

Henrietta Hicks was born and attended school in Boley. She graduated from Langston University and now serves as Boley’s municipal judge. For her contributions to the preservation of the heritage of that All-Black town, Boley has bestowed upon her the distinction of its official historian.

Kevin Matthews represents Tulsa in the Oklahoma Senate. In 2012 he was elected to the state House of Representatives, and the next year to the Senate. He is the current chair of both the Black Caucus and the Democratic Caucus. He is the founder and chair of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission, which works to educate Oklahomans and Americans about Black Wall Street and the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921, as well as its impact on the state and nation. For the last two years, he has been working to attract African American cultural tourism to the All-Black towns of Oklahoma.

Shirley Nero is a retired secondary social studies teacher who was born and raised in the All-Black town of Clearview. During her career, she was named Sapulpa Junior High Teacher of the Year, Oklahoma Social Studies Teacher of the Year, and Oklahoma Heritage Teacher of the Year for Indian Territory. Nero served on the OHS Board of Directors and still chairs the OHS Black Heritage Committee. She has led numerous tours of Oklahoma’s All-Black towns.

Take a closer look at

All-Black Towns of Oklahoma

"The All-Black towns of Oklahoma represent a unique chapter in American history. Nowhere else, neither in the Deep South nor in the Far West, did so many African American men and women come together to create, occupy, and govern their own communities. From 1865 to 1920 African Americans created more than fifty identifiable towns and settlements, some of short duration and some still existing at the beginning of the twenty-first century."

Read the full Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture article written by Larry O'Dell by clicking here.

Townspeople of Redbird Oklahoma at the train station

All-Black Towns of Oklahoma: Remembering Safe Havens

This online resource about All-Black towns of Oklahoma is replete with interactive maps, audio/video recordings, photographs, and resources. Click on the photo of the townspeople of Red Bird, Oklahoma, above to take a journey through Oklahoma's All-Black towns, and explore the creativity, entrepreneurial spirit, and tenacity of those that helped build Black safe havens in the state.

Seizing Justice: The Greensboro 4 film screening

To celebrate Black History Month, the Oklahoma History Center (OHC) and the Smithsonian Channel are excited to present a screening of Seizing Justice: The Greensboro 4, followed by a panel discussion about the Oklahoma sit-in movement. This screening will be held on Saturday, February 5, from 1 to 3 p.m., and is included with paid admission to the Oklahoma History Center.

Witness the story of four young men who stood up to racism and social injustice by taking a seat through photographs, archival footage, and interviews. These include interviews with Joseph McNeil, David Richmond, Franklin McCain, and Jibreel Khazan, the four men who began the sit-in and Woolworth’s in 1960 to protest segregation practices, as well as with historians from the Smithsonian National Museum of American History and the late civil rights leader and US Congressman John Lewis.

This film screening is for ages 12 and over and will take place in the Musser Learning Lab inside the OHC. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for seniors and students. Admission is free for OHS members and active-duty military, veterans, and dependents (with ID).

OHS COVID-19 safety measures

Per CDC guidance, we recommend that visitors who are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 wear face masks and maintain social distancing in indoor public areas. All visitors, staff, volunteers, contractors, and vendors should use appropriate handwashing techniques.

We ask that you avoid visiting OHS museums, sites, and affiliates if you have COVID-19, are experiencing symptoms, have a fever, or are otherwise feeling sick or unwell.