Leadership: Mother of Oklahoma's Civil Rights
On August 19, 1958, Clara Luper and thirteen children walked into Katz Drugstore in downtown Oklahoma City, sat down on the counter, and ordered Coca-Cola and hamburgers. They were immediately refused, but they remained seated and politely asked again to be served. This provoked negative reactions from other patrons. The protesters were hit, spit on and yelled at, but they remained passive.
Clara Luper mentored a generation of Oklahomans who stood up for their rights and changed the course of history. Over a hundred establishments and chains integrated as a result of the sit-ins. Katz Drugstore integrated all their stores in Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas and Iowa. Clara Luper’s non-violent activism led to integrated public accommodations, including some 17 churches.
Portwood Williams, Jr., a former sit-inner and student of Clara Luper, in a personal interview by Simhao Low (2/7/15)
|
“We understood to make that change, laws had to be changed.” This is an audio clip where Clara Luper was expressing anger at racial segregation
|