The Clara Luper National Sit-In Memorial Plaza was unveiled in downtown Oklahoma City. The bronze sculptures depict the civil rights leader’s first protest with her students at Katz Drug Store in 1958.  

Luper was born in Okfuskee County, Oklahoma and was a history teacher at several Oklahoma City schools. She also served as an advisor for the Oklahoma City chapter of the NAACP. 

Inspired by non-violent activism, Luper started a series of sit-ins to protest segregation and demand integrated service in public accommodations in Oklahoma. The displays inspired several others throughout the United States and contributed to the larger Civil Rights Movement. 

“In 2018, we decided that it was time to tell Oklahoma City’s civil rights story in the heart of downtown.” said Mayor David Holt in an Instagram post. “Over the last seven years a broad coalition of residents have worked towards creation of the Clara Luper Sit-In Plaza. This place will honor those heroic sit-inners who began the process of changing our city in 1958 and inspired others around the nation.” 

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Communities Foundation of Oklahoma serves as the project’s fiscal sponsor and the $3.6 million monument was funded in part through a donation of $150,000 from the Arnall Family Foundation and other donors. The bronze sculpture weighs around 8,000 pounds and sits at the former location of the drug store where the first sit-in took place.  

We are proud to join in recognizing Clara Luper’s impact in Oklahoma City and support her legacy of work toward achieving equality for all people.