The Clara Luper Legacy Committee

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."

​

Chelle, a native of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, is a Summa Cum Laude and third-generation graduate of HBCU Langston University, receiving her B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. With research emphasis on the collective organizing strategies developed and implemented by African American women to effect transformational societal change, she holds an M.A. in Multicultural Women’s and Gender Studies and is continuing her studies as a third-year doctoral student in the Department of Language, Culture and Gender at Texas Woman’s University in Denton, Texas. The daughter of the late civil rights activist Clara Luper, Chelle works to ensure the continuation of her mother’s rich legacy of social justice advocacy, particularly in support of marginalized communities.

The Sit-In experience was my foundation to stand for equality.  Clara Luper's leadership changed this city, state and nation.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

The Oklahoma City Sit-In Movement was one of the most significant events in my life. Clara Luper was my teacher and my NAACP Youth Advisor.  I got involved in the Clara Luper Legacy Committee because I wanted to be a part of the work being done to memorialize the impact she made on the State of Oklahoma and the civil rights movement as a whole.

​

​

​

​

Clara Shepard Luper’s Legacy is important to me because of her complete “body of work” over the years. Mrs. Luper was an educator by profession, but much more as a human being. Her leadership during the Civil Rights Movement, Ms. Black Oklahoma Beauty pageants, the Sanitation Strike, as a radio personality, and mentoring youth at the Freedom Center, just to name a few.  Oklahoma City and Oklahoma have benefited greatly because of her activism, and current and future generations must be made aware of and celebrate her contributions.

Dr. Karlos K. Hill is Associate Professor and Chair of the Clara Luper Department of African and African-American Studies at the University of Oklahoma. He joined the Clara Luper Legacy Committee in 2018. Dr. Hill is currently co-editing with Dr. Bob Blackburn a new edition of Clara Luper’s Behold the Walls which tells the story of the Oklahoma City sit-ins. Behold the Walls is currently the only book-length treatment of the Oklahoma City sit-ins. More broadly, Dr. Hill supports the committee’s efforts to stimulate educational initiatives and scholarship on the life and legacy of Clara Luper.

The reason I am a member is that I don't want anyone to forget the way we were treated and never forget it. If you don't know your history it will repeat itself.

​

​

​

​

​

My motivation for involvement in the Legacy Committee is to disseminate information regarding the history of Clara Luper. As a member of the National Association of the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP): It affords me the privilege to bring awareness to public activities, and events occurring in Oklahoma City.

​

​

​

​

I am humbled to be affiliated and connected as a member of the Clara Luper Legacy Committee.

We are still motivated, inspired, and encouraged by the spirit of Mrs. Clara Luper.

We are still led by her leadership to achieve and accomplish positive changes.

We are still standing and fighting for justice.

I got to know Mrs. Clara Luper as my high school teacher and through the NAACP Youth Council. As an advisor to the youth, Mrs. Luper would always say ingratitude is one of the worst sins you could commit. Therefore, be grateful for all things. Mrs. Clara Luper was a great teacher, advocate for justice, and a lover of knowledge. As a member of the Clara Luper Legacy Committee, I will endeavor to pass on the knowledge and gratitude that was bestowed upon me. Knowing our past can help us progress into the future.

I was blessed to be part of the sit-in movement as a member of the OKC NAACP Youth council and it is an honor to serve as a member of the Clara Luper Legacy Committee.  I believe the work of the committee is vital to keeping the contributions and achievements of Mrs. Luper alive and well.  Joel 1:3 reads: “Tell your children about it, Let your children tell their children, and their children another generation.”   It is our duty. It is our calling.  It is our future.

​

Learning, fellowshipping, and working to build a better world on the Legacy Committee, alongside such titans of the Civil Rights Movement, is a privilege that I will always respect and honor. 

​​

​

​

​

​

It brings me great joy to be a part of the Clara Luper Legacy Committee. As a youngster, I was inspired when I was told about the original Sit-In Protest organized by this pioneering woman. It challenged me to be on the right side of history in becoming a longtime community activist and advocate of civil rights. Therefore, it is my obligation to preserve and commemorate her entire body of work as we continue in the struggle.

Being a niece of Clara Luper I was able to see her in action and understood the definitions of morals, character, ambition, loyalty, and so much more. She was an inspiration and still is today. There was no room for hate and disrespect with my aunt. She pushed you to want to be the best or give the very best you could and even then she felt you could do more.

​

I am proud to serve on the Clara Luper Legacy Committee. My grandmother, Carolyn Griffin Littlejohn, was just 15 when she and her friends bravely sat at lunch counters for justice with Clara Luper and the NAACP. I joined this committee to honor my family's legacy and to keep fighting for what Clara Luper inspired in those who came before me. Standing up to injustice is part of who I am. I push back against inequity because so many before me struggled to give me the freedoms I have now. I fight because I believe in making good trouble, and there is still much work ahead.

I joined the Legacy Committee as soon as I learned about Clara Luper and what she stood for. As an employee of the Oklahoma Historical Society, it is already our mission to collect, preserve, and share history. Clara Luper's teachings didn't seem to be as well-known as I thought they should be. It's an honor to be part of a group dedicated to keeping her legacy alive and teaching the next generations, her legacy and the importance of peace, unity, and equality.