OHS EXTRA! - Saying their names

Oklahoma Historical Society sent this bulletin at 02/16/2022 05:00 AM CST

Click here to view this newsletter in your web browser.

History Center Research Museums & Sites Preservation Publications

February 16, 2022

Green I. Currin Oklahoma Territorial Legislator

Roscoe Dunjee, Newspaper editor of the Black Dispatch

February is Black History Month

The Oklahoma Historical Society (OHS) is an excellent institutional resource for researching, teaching, and emphasizing the importance of learning the names of Black Oklahomans who were here before statehood. They helped to make the state of Oklahoma what it is today. The faces you see above are just some of the Black leaders who forged the first civil rights legislation, championed voting rights, developed land, strengthened communities, enforced the law, and left a paper trail so that future generations could know them. They left legacies of activism and community involvement that inspire Oklahomans today.

Celebrate Black History Month by clicking on the individual photos above to read more about their lives as prominent Black Oklahomans.

To learn more about Black history through our exhibits, educational curricula, encyclopedia articles, audio and video recordings, and other resources, please click here. We continue with our mission to collect, preserve, and share the history and culture of all Oklahomans. To be involved in the conversation, share your family's story, or to ask for help with research, contact the OHS.

Larry O'Dell, Trait Thompson, Sen. Kevin Matthews, Shirley Nero, and Henrietta Hicks

The latest, special episode of A Very OK Podcast describing the development of All-Black towns in Oklahoma is now available! This episode was recorded in front of a live studio audience at the Oklahoma History Center on February 10, 2022. Hear the panelists—Henrietta Hicks from Boley, Shirley Nero from Clearview, and Senator Kevin Matthews from Tulsa—discuss the history of All-Black towns in Oklahoma. The live episode was moderated by OHS Executive Director Trait Thompson and OHS Director of Communications and Development Larry O'Dell.

From 1865 to 1920 more than 50 identifiable towns and settlements in Oklahoma were Black communities, governed and sustained by Black governance and business. Listen to this episode to learn more about the towns of Boley and Clearview, among other towns that were built by Black migrants to present-day Oklahoma. Click here to view a map of Oklahoma's All-Black towns. On this map, you can locate early All-Black towns established before 1880, All-Black towns no longer inhabited, and see communities that are still thriving today. Listen to the latest episode by clicking here.

A painter seated on scaffolding, paints the ornamental detail of the Oklahoma Capitol

View Trait Thompson's Capitol Restoration presentation online

If you missed the Capitol Restoration Project presentation hosted in January by the John and Eleanor Kirkpatrick Research Center, the video can now be enjoyed online at your convenience.

Before becoming executive director of the Oklahoma Historical Society, Trait Thompson was the project manager of the Oklahoma Capitol Restoration Project. In the comprehensive presentation that was replete with historic and current images, Thompson discussed the architectural concerns that went into carrying out the monumental restoration. Click here to watch the presentation in its entirety on the OHS's YouTube channel.

"Shut the Door! Barns in Oklahoma" webinar series

Starting in February 2022, the State Historic Preservation Office will begin a new series of webinars entitled “Shut the Door! Barns in Oklahoma” featuring presenters who specialize in barn history, construction, and restoration.

On February 22 at 6 p.m., Dr. Brad Bays of Oklahoma State University will make the first presentation in the series on “Log Barns in Oklahoma.”

Presentations will be held every other month on the last Tuesday at 6 p.m. Webinars will occur on April 26, June 28, August 30, October 25, and December 27. The webinars will be limited to the first 100 registrants. To learn more about the entire series and to register, please click here. For further information, please contact Lynda Ozan at 405-522-4484 or lozan@okhistory.org.

Register your organization

The Oklahoma History Center (OHC) is currently taking applications from potential vendors and exhibitors for the 2022 Oklahoma Farm-to-Table Festival, to be held March 19, 2022, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. This free, community-wide fair highlights historic and modern farm life, with the purpose of demonstrating how food and household items travel from their sources to our homes. Families will experience perspectives from colonial America to the modern day, with hands-on activities for visitors of all ages.

To register your organization as a vendor or exhibitor for this event, please click on the link below to fill out the application form. A member of the Oklahoma History Center Education Department staff will contact you.

Register your organization for the Oklahoma Farm-to-Table Festival.

First Indian Home Guard historic portrait

"First Indian Home Guard" presentation by Dr. Johansson

On Saturday, February 26, at 1 p.m., Dr. M. Jane Johansson will make a presentation on the "First Indian Home Guard" at the Honey Springs Battlefield Visitor Center. Johansson, a professor in the Department of History and Political Science at Rogers State University and editor of the book Albert C. Ellithorpe, the First Indian Home Guards, and the Civil War on the Trans-Mississippi Frontier, will speak about the regiment’s unique history in relation to the Civil War in Indian Territory and the Battle of Honey Springs. Contact 918-617-7125 or honeysprings@okhistory.org for more information.

OHS COVID-19 safety measures

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.