On July 4, 2026, the United States of America will celebrate the 250 year anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Many events that involved or affected Black Americans may or may not be mentioned or spotlighted in mainstream America. With that in mind, the What We Need to Know Newsletter began featuring BLACK AMERICA 250. We will devote the next year to highlighting events that took place in our community over the last 250 years. It may be the birth of a significant individual or an event that took place between now and July 4, 2026. It may not have happened on the exact day that you are reading the newsletter, but it will be close enough, and more importantly, significant to our history.
Inspired by non-violent activism, high school history teacher Clara Luper and her students were determined to end segregation in Oklahoma. On Aug. 19, 1958, teacher Clara Luper and the NAACP Youth Council in Oklahoma began sit-ins to desegregate lunch counters at the Katz Drugstore, in Oklahoma City.
This sit-in led to numerous other demonstrations at lunch counters, cafeterias, churches, and amusement parks, as well as marches, voter registration drives, and boycotts.
The Oklahoma City. Council responded with an ordinance ending racial discrimination shortly before the national 1964 Civil Rights Act. Mrs. Luper participated, as well, in the civil rights marches in Washington, D.C. and in Selma.
Mrs. Luper taught history for 41 years and was arrested 26 times for fighting for civil and human rights.