What to know about Freedom Fiesta events that celebrate 65th anniversary of OKC sit-ins

Brandy McDonnell, The Oklahoman
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When Marilyn Luper Hildreth sat down at the lunch counter of the downtown Oklahoma City Katz Drug Store with her mother and a dozen other local youngsters 65 years ago, she had no idea they would be making history.

"I don't think any of us as kids realized the impact that the sit-ins would have. But I want to tell you this: I'm so glad that we sat down here in Oklahoma City, because if we had not, then students all across this nation never would have stood up," Hildreth said during a panel discussion after a May 13 Oklahoma City Philharmonic concert honoring her mother, the late Oklahoma civil rights legend Clara Luper.

On Aug. 19, 1958, Luper and 13 of her students — including her two older children, Calvin and Marilyn — walked into the then-segregated downtown OKC Katz Drug and ordered Cokes at the lunch counter, initiating one of the first civil rights protests of its kind in the country. The famous sit-ins in Greensboro, North Carolina, didn't happen until 1960. 

"We sat-in two years before they decided to sit-in — not taking anything away from them. But somebody has to tell our history," said Hildreth, who is now part of the Clara Luper Legacy Committee. "That's why I get so angry right now when they take that history out of the schools. If we don't tell our history, who will tell our history?"

The Clara Luper Legacy Committee is sharing the history and celebrating the 65th anniversary of the Oklahoma City sit-ins with its annual Freedom Fiesta events, including a gospel concert, art experience and sit-in reenactment.

Trina and Dennis Lewis march with posters depicting the late civl rights icon Clara Luper during the 2022 reenactment of the Oklahoma City sit-ins. The march to Kaiser’s Grateful Bean Café had begun at Frontline Church.
Trina and Dennis Lewis march with posters depicting the late civl rights icon Clara Luper during the 2022 reenactment of the Oklahoma City sit-ins. The march to Kaiser’s Grateful Bean Café had begun at Frontline Church.

Who was Clara Luper and how is Freedom Fiesta honoring her centennial?

With the theme "Unity in the Community," this year's Freedom Fiesta is not only celebrating the 65th anniversary of the Oklahoma City sit-ins but also honoring the life and legacy of Luper during her centennial year.

Born May 3, 1923, in Okfuskee County, Luper is best remembered for leading the 1958 Katz Drug Store sit-ins. But she also became in 1950 the first Black student to enroll in the history department at the University of Oklahoma, where she earned her master's degree, and went on to teach American history in Oklahoma City schools for 41 years.

Luper participated in several marches with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., penning the play "Brother President" about King in 1957. That's the same year she became the adviser of the local NAACP Youth Council, and she served in that capacity 50 years, including leading the group during the OKC sit-ins.

Although white customers cursed them, threatened them and bumped them, Luper and the youngsters sat peacefully for hours at the Katz Drug lunch counter. They kept coming back, and on the third day, the staff relented and served them, ending the OKC lunch counter's segregation policy. 

Luper and the group launched more sit-ins at John A. Brown's luncheonette, the Skirvin Hotel, Wedgewood Amusement Park and more. 

"People look at Mrs. Luper as being a teacher and an activist: Mrs. Luper was a heck of a lot more than that. Mrs. Luper was a life coach. She put the NAACP Youth Council members in positions where they touched hands with the best of the community that the Black folks had. I'm talking about the doctors, the lawyers, the teachers, we rubbed elbows with them," said Larry Jeffries, one of the sit-in participants.

"She also took kids to Chicago, to New York City, to Washington, D.C., twice to Atlanta, to New Orleans — and to jail. Don't forget that. I consider her a travel agent ... and the lady was on par to me with any activist that we've had in this country."

Jabee Williams, center, stands with Marilyn Luper Hildreth and the rest of the original Oklahoma City sit-in participants behind the counter of Kaiser’s Grateful Bean Café during the 2022 sit-in reenactment.
Jabee Williams, center, stands with Marilyn Luper Hildreth and the rest of the original Oklahoma City sit-in participants behind the counter of Kaiser’s Grateful Bean Café during the 2022 sit-in reenactment.

What events are planned at Freedom Fiesta to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the OKC sit-ins?

The Clara Luper Legacy Committee is planning a series of Aug. 17-20 events for this year's Freedom Fiesta celebrating the 65th anniversary of the OKC sit-ins:

  • Gospel musical concert: 6 p.m. Aug. 17 at the Oklahoma History Center, 800 Nazid Zuhdi Drive. Titled “We’ve Come This Far by Faith,” the concert will feature the Dunjee Choir, the Ambassador Children’s Choir and other music groups.

  • "Freedom Story" art experience: 6 p.m. Aug. 18, Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center, 11 NW 11. The event will include a panel discussion led by Hildreth and other original sit-in participants, along with art by local creators, poetry and live music.

  • Oklahoma City Sit-In March and reenactment: 9 a.m. Aug. 19. The march will begin at Frontline Church, 1104 N Robinson, and end at Kaiser’s Grateful Bean Café, 1039 N Walker, where the sit-in reenactment will take place. Along with the public, the Clara Luper Legacy Committee invites anyone who had a family member who participated in the OKC civil rights movement to join in the reenactment.

  • Freedom Fiesta Celebration Program: 6 p.m. Aug. 20, Fifth Street Baptist Church, 801 NE 5. The keynote speaker will be Pastor A. Byron Coleman, senior pastor of Fifth Street Baptist Church.

For more information, go online to https://www.claraluperlegacy.com and https://twitter.com/ClaraLuper.

Why is it important to celebrate the history of the OKC sit-ins?

After the OKC Philharmonic's May 13 concert "Oklahoma Stories: Clara Luper Centennial," Hildreth and fellow sit-in participant Gwendolyn Fuller Mukes said it is especially important for the Oklahoma City sit-ins to be commemorated considering the efforts they see to "take that history out of the schools."

"I was on a panel, and they said, 'Well, the reason we want to change things here is because people's feelings get hurt when you tell them what happened.' And I couldn't understand that. How in the hell do you think we feel? What about our feelings, our kids, if they don't know about the struggle? And you want to take that out of the schools, so they can't know our history? Then where will we be as a race of people?" Hildreth said.

"We got to tell the truth about it, what happened here in Oklahoma City."

Marilyn Luper Hildreth speaks during the 2022 reenactment of the Oklahoma City sit-in.
Marilyn Luper Hildreth speaks during the 2022 reenactment of the Oklahoma City sit-in.

She and Fuller Mukes seemed to be referencing House Bill 1775, a state law banning certain race and gender topics from schools that passed in 2021.

"There is nothing 'woke' about us," Fuller Mukes said, indicating the three other sit-in participants gathered at the event. "This critical race theory: hogwash. Hogwash. I would love to say something more strongly, but since we have tender ears here, I will not.

"When you don't know a person's history, a culture's history, you do tend to become more cynical, more of a racist. Not being educated, you've got to educate yourselves ... and educate your children, your grandchildren, your great-grandchildren. Bring history to life for your family."

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Freedom Fiesta events commemorate 65th anniversary of OKC sit-ins