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On Saturday, August 20, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the Oklahoma Historical Society is partnering with the Oklahoma Conference of Black Mayors to present the All-Black Towns State Conference. The Oklahoma All-Black Towns State Conference will bring together the mayors of Oklahoma’s historic All-Black towns. The conference is designed to encourage a network of state agencies to join with the mayors to share resources enabling them to collect, preserve, and share their town histories.
The event will be held at the Oklahoma History Center, located at 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive in Oklahoma City. Please register by visiting www.okhistory.org/abt or call Saidy Orellana at 405-522-5204. When registering you can pre-pay for an optional lunch from Florence's Restaurant, which is available for $10 plus processing fees.
The conference will allow the All-Black towns to exhibit information about their unique histories, sell special souvenirs, and discuss future projects. During the morning sessions, the towns will present their strategic plans for infrastructure, resources, and cultural attractions. The keynote luncheon speaker will be Senator Roger Thompson. In the afternoon, several state agencies will deliver brief presentations about resources available to support the towns.
Photo: The first gathering of the Oklahoma Conference of Black Mayors, pictured in front of The Bucket, an old juke joint in Clearview (photo by DeSean McClinton-Holland). Look below to see a map of historic All-Black towns in Oklahoma.
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Experience the exhibit Realizing the Dream
Realizing the Dream is an exhibit located in the Kerr McGee Gallery on the third floor of the Oklahoma History Center. The exhibit highlights 12 aspects of the Black experience in Oklahoma.
One section of the exhibit explores the more than 50 All-Black towns that were founded in Oklahoma. During the period between 1865 and 1920, these communities thrived thanks to the strength of Black business owners and community leaders. From a listing of historic Black businesses to interactive maps of historic All-Black towns in the state, more can be learned about the extraordinary individuals who forged these communities. Today, only 13 of these historic All-Black towns survive. A 14th town, IXL, was incorporated in 2001.
The exhibit follows the history of the Great Depression, segregation, and Jim Crow laws that eventually led many Blacks to leave the state. Places significant to Black history in Oklahoma have been recreated for visitors to gain insight into spaces occupied by community and Civil Rights Movement leaders. Museum-goers can step into Richard Lewis’s barbershop, play Scrabble in Clara Luper’s living room, and take a seat at a replica of the Katz Drug Store lunch counter where sit-ins took place in the 1960s.
Larry O'Dell, “All-Black Towns,” The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=AL009.
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This Oklahoma Historical Society online resource about All-Black towns is replete with interactive maps, audio/video recordings, photographs, and resources. Click here to take a journey through Oklahoma's historic All-Black towns, and explore the creativity, entrepreneurial spirit, and tenacity of those who helped build Black safe havens in the state.
Photos: Above: Men gathered in front of the Red Bird depot. Right: “A Group of Progressive Citizens of Red Bird, Oklahoma” (images from All-Black Towns of Oklahoma: Remembering Safe Havens).
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OHS COVID-19 safety measures
We recommend that visitors who are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 wear face masks in indoor public areas. 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.
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Click event listings below for more information.
12 - Wreath-laying ceremony and flyover, Will Rogers Memorial Museum, Claremore
12 - Museum After Dark: Village Sounds featuring Kalyn Fay, Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center, Enid
13 - Will Rogers and Wiley Post Fly-In and National Day of Remembrance, Will Rogers Birthplace Ranch, Oologah
13 - Quilting workshop with Martha Ray, Sod House Museum, Aline
13 - Mushroom Growing workshop, Fort Towson Historic Site, Fort Towson
16 - Oklahoma Route 66 Centennial Commission meeting, Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
18 - “The Shoe Strides Forward: How Raising Hemlines Created the Shoes We Love Today” presentation by Heather Franks, Henry and Anna Overholser Mansion, Oklahoma City
18 - Thursday Night Lecture Series featuring the Oklahoma Capitol Restoration Project presentation by Trait Thompson, Will Rogers Memorial Museum, Claremore
19 - The Virginian (1946) film screening, Buffalo Theatre, Pawnee
19 - Route 66: The Untold Story of Women on the Mother Road film screening and discussion, Henry and Anna Overholser Mansion, Oklahoma City
20 - Will’s Cowboy Trader Days at the Ranch, Will Rogers Birthplace Ranch, Oologah
20 - Oklahoma All-Black Towns State Conference, Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
20 - History Alive! on the Cherokee Strip, Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center, Enid
20 - Family Day at the Birthplace Ranch, Will Rogers Birthplace Ranch, Oologah
20 - Let’s Talk About It: The Virginian (1902) by Owen Wister, Pawnee Bill Ranch and Museum, Pawnee
23 - Tuesday Tunes at the Mansion featuring Hunter Thomas, Henry and Anna Overholser Mansion, Oklahoma City
25 - “Beyond D&D: Creative Mitigation in the Section 106 Process in Oklahoma” webinar (VIRTUAL), State Historic Preservation Office, Oklahoma City
26 - Movie Night featuring Will Rogers Jr. in The Story of Will Rogers (1952), Will Rogers Memorial Museum, Claremore
26 - “History and Hops: Mid-Century Modern Architecture” presentation by Lynda Ozan, Henry and Anna Overholser Mansion, Oklahoma City
27 - “Hardtack and Hard Times: Civil War Food” living history program, Honey Springs Battlefield, Checotah
30 - “Shut the Door! Barns in Oklahoma: Signs of Ethnicity and Adaptation in Oklahoma Barns” webinar (VIRTUAL), State Historic Preservation Office, Oklahoma City
31 - From Institution to Inclusion: The History of disAbilities in Oklahoma exhibit closes, Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
31 - Early Influencers: How Anna Overholser & Henry Ione Overholser Perry Set the Style for Oklahoma City Women, 1903–1929 exhibit closes, Henry and Anna Overholser Mansion, Oklahoma City
31 - Antique Handkerchiefs exhibit closes, Fred and Addie Drummond Home, Hominy
1 - Working America: A Sam Comen Photography Exhibition opens, Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center, Enid
1 - Drummond Heirlooms exhibit opens, Fred and Addie Drummond Home, Hominy
1 - Oklahoma Heritage Preservation Grant Program workshop (VIRTUAL), Oklahoma Historical Society, Oklahoma City
3 - History Alive! on the Cherokee Strip, Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center, Enid
9–10 - "Musket Demo Day" living history program, Fort Gibson Historic Site, Fort Gibson
10 - Quilting workshop with Martha Ray, Sod House Museum, Aline
12 - Oklahoma Heritage Preservation Grant Program workshop (VIRTUAL), Oklahoma Historical Society, Oklahoma City
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Masthead photo: Photograph of members of the town council in Boley. Front row, left to right: William H. Wallace, T. B. Armstrong, D. J. Turner, Thomas M. Haynes, H. C. Cavil, M. J. Jones. Back row, left to right: Wash Williams, Dr. Calvin Bethel Powell, C. C. Chambers, T. R. Ringo, W. A. Kennedy. These men are identified in the books American Composer Zenobia Powell Perry: Race and Gender in the 20th Century, by Jeannie Gayle Pool; Boley: Oklahoma’s Famous Black Town, by James Shaw Sr.; and Boley, Indian Territory: Exercising Freedom in the All-Black Town, by Melissa N. Stuckey (3377.D.1, Oklahoma Historical Society Photograph Collection, OHS).
This photograph is available on The Gateway to Oklahoma History.
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