THE CLARA LUPER LEGACY
CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST
2012.201.B0366B.0546 Oklahoma Publishing Company Collection, Oklahoma Historical Society, July 4, 1964.
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Members of the Clara Luper Legacy Committee joined together with the Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum for the Day One Luncheon which began the 168 Days of Remembrance that leads up to April 19, 2023, and the 28th Anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing.
"Two moments in history in downtown Oklahoma City separated by five blocks, and 37 years. The Oklahoma City bombing and the Clara Luper Sit-In at Katz Drug, impacted our city and nation and changed lives forever. One was about teaching non-violence and the other about horrific violence."
November 3, 2022
Pictured here L to R: Dr. Karlos Hill, Joyce Henderson, Marilyn Luper Hildreth, Joyce Jackson, Larry Jeffries, and the director of the National Memorial Museum Kari Watkins.
A BRIEF HISTORY
The story of Oklahoma City's leading civil rights activist
2012.2012.B1439.0757 Oklahoma Publishing Company Collection, Oklahoma Historical Society
Marilyn Luper Hildreth
In order to understand where we are going, we must understand where we have been. It is our responsibility to tell the story of the Oklahoma civil rights movement. My mother, Clara Luper, loved and was totally involved in her community. She believed all children could learn and referred to them as her diamonds. She always dreamed of a better day. And would say to us, "I want you to go to places I have never been and dream dreams I have never had." I would often ask her after a demonstration when people would spit on us, kick us, laugh, and call us names, "Do I have to love these people?" She would say, "You have no choice. You must love your enemies as you love yourself."
About Us
The Clara Luper Legacy Committee works to support the sit-in and civil rights movement, Oklahoma, and the nation.
We are here to educate and
to keep the story of educator and activist, Clara Luper, alive.