EXTRA! - "Someday will be real soon"

Oklahoma Historical Society sent this bulletin at 08/16/2023 05:00 AM CDT

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History Center Research Museums & Sites Preservation Publications

August 16, 2023

Ayanna Najuma, age 7, looking directly at the camera, participating in the Katz Drug Store sit-in

THIS WEEK IN HISTORY

The Oklahoma City sit-ins

On August 19, 1958, a movement was born in Oklahoma City when schoolteacher and National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Youth Council advisor Clara Shepard Luper (1923–2011) led the first sit-ins in Oklahoma City.

65 years ago this week, Luper and others joined to protest racial segregation with the first sit-in at Katz Drug Store in downtown Oklahoma City, blazing a trail for the Civil Rights movement in the state.

As described in her autobiography Behold the Walls (1979), Luper (pictured left) recalled that the experiences of her father, Ezell Shepard were among the reasons she acted against unlawful segregation policies. Shepard was a World War II veteran, who served his country, yet in his lifetime, he “had never been able to sit down and eat a meal in a decent restaurant.”* His experiences largely shaped her motivations as she shared in the book.

“I thought about my father…I remembered how he used to tell us that someday he would take us to dinner and to parks and zoos. And when I asked him when was someday, he would always say, ‘someday will be real soon,’ as tears ran down his cheeks.”

– Clara Luper, Behold the Walls*

Trait Thompson, Marilyn Luper Hildreth, Dr. Bob Blackburn pictured together in a collage.

LISTEN TO THE LATEST

A little freedom is a dangerous thing

When Clara Luper and her students went to New York City in 1957 to perform her play, Brother President, they experienced integration for the first time. The trip opened their eyes to a new way of living and became the impetus to try to bring freedom to segregated Oklahoma. As an NAACP Youth Council leader and a well-respected teacher, Clara Luper brought 13 students to the lunch counter at Katz Drug Store on August 19, 1958, and waited to be served. Under Luper’s guidance and adherence to nonviolence, the group quietly protested their discontent with segregation.

In this episode of A Very OK Podcast, Trait Thompson and Dr. Bob Blackburn discuss Oklahoma’s history of segregation and the fortitude it took to bring change. Their guest is Marilyn Luper Hildreth, daughter of longtime Civil Rights activist Clara Luper.

A still of a video interviewing a woman on the street at the time of the sit-ins movement in Oklahoma City

People of Oklahoma: “Civil Rights Movement Across Oklahoma” OHS documentary

The Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 60s would not have been possible without brave individuals who stepped forward to challenge a system of injustice and inequality. A new documentary about the Civil Rights Movement in Oklahoma has been developed by the Oklahoma Historical Society (OHS). It contains reflections of those who participated in sit-ins across the state, including Marilyn Luper Hildreth, Joyce Henderson, and Dr. Gloria Griffin. In the documentary, Christina Beatty, J. D. Baker, Jahruba Lambeth, Loria Phillips, J. C. Watts, Jabee Williams, and others share current-day projects that preserve the movement’s legacy. To view the full documentary, click here or on the image above.

The “People of Oklahoma” series explores Oklahoma’s diverse heritage to give voice to historically underrepresented communities. Explore OHS’s Film and Video Archives on YouTube by clicking here.

Individual photos in a group of Marilyn Luper Hildreth, Joyce Jackson, Joyce Henderson, and George Henderson

ANSWERING THE QUESTION:

What were the sit-ins during the Civil Rights Movement in Oklahoma?

The Voices of Oklahoma project has an online learning center article full of background information and interviews with Marilyn Luper Hildreth, Joyce Jackson, George Henderson, and Joyce Henderson that tell the story of the Civil Rights struggle in Oklahoma. These first-hand accounts, given in comprehensive oral history interviews with host John Erling, are an invaluable teaching tool for future generations. Read the online resource and hear the voices of those who participated in the Civil Rights Movement in Oklahoma City.