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As an educational organization and a dedicated community partner, the Oklahoma Historical Society has long believed that a critical step toward ending racism and injustice is a better understanding of our shared history. By providing resources that give context to the Black experience in Oklahoma, we hope to spark civil discourse and open dialogue about the role of race in the history of our state. Click here to view and share resources about the Black experience in Oklahoma from the OHS website.
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LISTEN TO THE LATEST
Jazz in Oklahoma
The latest episode of A Very OK Podcast explores the confluence of cultures in Oklahoma, from Blacks who arrived as enslaved persons from the southeastern United States to European immigrants, created the ideal environment for the musical form known as Jazz to take root. Jazz performers such as Charlie Christian, the Oklahoma City Blue Devils, and the Ernie Fields Orchestra made their mark on the genre starting out in small clubs located in Tulsa’s Greenwood and Oklahoma City’s Deep Deuce districts and later traveling to New York, Chicago, St. Louis, and Los Angeles. In this episode, Trait Thompson and Dr. Bob Blackburn discuss Oklahoma’s early Jazz scene and interview Carmen Fields (pictured right), author of Going Back to T-Town: The Ernie Fields Territory Big Band. Ms. Fields discusses her father’s legacy, the musicians in the orchestra, his hits, and her brother, Ernie Fields, Jr.
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“From the Vault: Ernie Fields”
The OKPOP Museum’s video series “From the Vault” explores the stories behind various items in their collections.
In this episode, learn about the Ernie Fields Sr. Collection at the OKPOP museum, his entertainment history, and the museum’s relationship with his son and daughter, Ernie Fields Jr. and Carmen Fields.
Bandleader/trombonist/pianist Ernie Fields was born in Texas on August 28, 1904, but raised in Taft, Oklahoma. His early ensemble, The Royal Entertainers, shattered norms by being the first African American group to play Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa. But it was with his later band, The Ernie Fields Orchestra, that Fields found national success. The Ernie Fields Orchestra became one of the most famous jazz big bands among African Americans on the club circuit that stretched from Kansas City to Dallas in the 1930s–40s. Learn more about Fields by watching “From the Vault: The Ernie Fields Collection.” Subscribe to the OKPOP YouTube channel for more great content featuring Oklahoma creatives.
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VOICES OF OKLAHOMA
Washington Rucker: Jazz Drummer
Washington Irving Rucker was born in Tulsa, on March 5, 1937, developing a talent for the drums along the way. He played with bluesman Jimmy “Cry Cry” Hawkins in his teens. In his career, Rucker has worked with artists as diverse as Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles, gospel artists Reverend James Cleveland and Shirley Caesar; jazz greats like Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Stitt, Hampton Hawes, and Freddie Hubbard; and singers Nancy Wilson and Linda Hopkins. To listen to the full Voices of Oklahoma interview with Washington Rucker conducted by John Erling, click here.
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Pioneer Mother Monuments book discussion and signing
The Pioneer Woman Museum and Statue will host a discussion and book signing with Cynthia Culver Prescott, author of the book Pioneer Mother Monuments: Constructing Cultural Memory (2019), on Friday, March 1, from 1 to 3 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
The book explores aspects of American pioneer monuments, historical memory, and modern reexamination of monument culture. Prescott will use images of frontiersmen and pioneer mothers in her presentation on the topic. The Pioneer Woman Museum and Statue is located at 701 Monument Rd. in Ponca City. For more information, please call 580-765-6108 or visit pioneerwomanmuseum.com.
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Women’s History Conference March 2
The Oklahoma History Center will host a free Oklahoma Women’s History Conference on Saturday, March 2, from 1 to 4 p.m. The moderators will be Sarah Eppler Janda and Patricia Loughlin, the editors of This Land is Herland: Gendered Activism in Oklahoma from the 1870s to the 2010s (2021).
The first panel discussion will take place from 1 to 2:15 p.m. The topic is early Oklahoma women’s activism, featuring speakers Heather Clemmer, Sunu Kodumthara, and Farina King. There will be a break and book signing from 2:15 to 2:45 p.m., followed by another panel discussion from 2:45 to 4 p.m. about modern women’s activism with speakers Rachel Watson, Chelsea Ball, and Lindsey Churchill.
The event is free and open to the public. No registration is required. It will take place at the Oklahoma History Center, located at 800 Nazih Zuhdi Dr. in Oklahoma City. The conference is being organized by the Pioneer Woman Museum and Statue staff. For more information, please call 580-765-6108.
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Poetry Writing and Zine-Making Workshop
A local Indigenous poet will host a poetry writing and zine-making workshop at the Oklahoma History Center on Saturday, March 2, from 1 to 4 p.m.
Alannah Benae will work with students on poetry writing and walk them through creating a zine. Poets of all experience levels, from beginners to long-time writers, are invited to join the workshop.
Benae is a local writer, poet, and writing instructor. She is an enrolled member of the Absentee Shawnee Tribe and is also Oglala Lakota, Kickapoo, Delaware, and Cheyenne-Arapaho. Her work has been showcased in both in-state and out-of-state gallery showings.
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 Celebrate the “King of Western Swing”
An annual celebration of an Oklahoma music icon is returning to the Oklahoma State Capitol on Monday, March 4. The Oklahoma Arts Council and Oklahoma Historical Society have announced this year’s lineup for Bob Wills Day at the Oklahoma State Capitol, which will include live music performances by Western swing musicians from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Capitol’s second-floor rotunda.
Free and open to the public, headlining this year’s event will be Bob Wills’ Texas Playboys under the direction of Jason Roberts. They will be joined by special guest fiddle player and vocalist Katie Shore. Additional performers include Jay Steagall & The Part-Timers, Kyle Dillingham, and Greg Burgess and the Oklahoma Swing. Emceeing the event will be Tracy Pitcox, an award-winning traditional country music disc jockey and author who has interviewed and worked with many of the top names in the country music industry from Garth Brooks to Loretta Lynn. The day will also feature special recognitions of Wills—who passed away in 1975—in the Oklahoma State Senate and Oklahoma House of Representatives.
Bob Wills Day at the Capitol commemorates the life and legacy of the “King of Western Swing” who helped popularize the music genre during the 1930s and 40s. Wills’ band, the Texas Playboys, had a daily program on the Tulsa radio outlet KVOO and were regular performers at the venerable Cain’s Ballroom.
The 2024 event is presented through a partnership of the Oklahoma Arts Council and Oklahoma Historical Society. The event is made possible in part through the folk and traditional arts initiative of Mid-America Arts Alliance.
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2024 Oklahoma Farm-to-Table Festival
The Oklahoma History Center will hold the 2024 Oklahoma Farm-to-Table Festival on Saturday, March 16, from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. The free, family-friendly event will encourage the exploration of historic and modern agriculture. There will be hands-on activities and demonstrations for visitors of all ages.
Would your organization like to participate?
The Oklahoma History Center invites organizations to participate in the 2024 Oklahoma Farm-to-Table Festival. At this free family festival, attendees will explore historical perspectives, farm life, and how food gets to our table. Families will experience perspectives from Colonial America to the modern day with hands-on activities for visitors of all ages.
Fill out the Oklahoma Farm-to-Table Festival Application
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TICKETS NOW ON SALE!
2024 OHS Awards Banquet
On Thursday, March 21, at 6 p.m., the Oklahoma Historical Society will celebrate the contributions of Oklahoma historians at the 2024 Oklahoma Historical Society Awards Banquet at the Oklahoma History Center.
Please click here for a complete list of award winners and event details. Ticket sales will close on March 11, 2024. For event information or sponsorship opportunities, please contact Brittney Berling, development officer, at brittney.berling@history.ok.gov.
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Click event listings below for more information.
1–29 - February Living History: 19th-Century Commerce, Fort Gibson Historic Site, Fort Gibson
23 - Movie Night featuring Ernest Goes to Jail (1990), Will Rogers Memorial Museum, Claremore
24 - “Make Your Own Tea Blend: Grown in Oklahoma” workshop, Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
26 - Will’s Garage Sale, Will Rogers Memorial Museum, Claremore
28 - OkNHD Professional Development Workshop for Teachers, Southwestern Oklahoma State University, Weatherford
29 - Antique Doll exhibit closes, Fred and Addie Drummond Home, Hominy
1 - Trust and Betrayal in Osage Country exhibit closes, Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
1 - Pioneer Mother Monuments: Constructing Cultural Memory book discussion and signing with author Cynthia Culver Prescott, Pioneer Woman Statue and Museum, Ponca City
2 - History Alive! on the Cherokee Strip, Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center, Enid
2 - Oklahoma Women’s History Conference, Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
2 - Poetry Writing and Zine Making class, Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
4 - Bob Wills Day at the Capitol, Oklahoma State Capitol, Oklahoma City
6 - Lunch and Learn: “Creativity in the Preservation World: How to Reach a Younger Generation” with Jessica Scott, State Historic Preservation Office, Oklahoma City
7 - Living History Education Day, Fort Towson Historic Site, Fort Towson
8 - Museum After Dark: Lantern Tours, Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center, Enid
8–9 - 1840s Encampment, Fort Towson Historic Site, Fort Towson
9 - Quilting Workshop, Sod House Museum, Aline
11–15 - Civic Learning Week, VIRTUAL, Will Rogers Memorial Museum, Claremore
16 - Encountering John Brown exhibit closes, Honey Springs Battlefield, Checotah
16 - 2024 Oklahoma Farm-to-Table Festival, Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
16 - Artillery Demonstrations, Honey Springs Battlefield, Checotah
16 - History Alive! on the Cherokee Strip, Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center, Enid
18-22 - Spring Break Activities, Will Rogers Memorial Museum, Claremore
20 - Oklahoma Historical Society Executive Committee meeting, Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
21 - Oklahoma Historical Society Awards Banquet, Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
21 - From the Stacks: Readings from the Carnegie Library, Oklahoma Territorial Museum and Carnegie Library, Guthrie
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HE HIT THE HIGH NOTES
Jazz guitarist Charlie Christian
On July 29, 1916, Charles Henry Christian was born in Bonham, Texas. He moved to Oklahoma City in 1918 with his family and grew up learning music in the Deep Deuce District of Oklahoma City. Christian gained national exposure becoming a Benny Goodman Sextet and Orchestra member at 23. He mastered the single-note guitar solo and pioneered making the electric guitar the focal instrument of modern music. In a short life of just 25 years, Christian forever impacted the music world with his distinctive stylistic innovations.
Charlie Christian (center) at Ruby’s Grill, Oklahoma City (20699.84.92.16, State Museum Collection, Frank Driggs Collection, OHS).
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Masthead image: Photograph of Mrs. Zelia Page Breaux (18429, Elwyn Welch Collection, Oklahoma Historical Society Photograph Collection). Click here to read more about the life of musician and educator Zelia Page Breaux (1880–1956) in The Encylopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture.
Click here to view and share resources about the Black experience in Oklahoma from the OHS website.
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