(Update: Jimcy McGirt pleaded no contest to two of the charges regarding violation of sex offender registration requirements. According to attorney Richard O’Carroll, the accusation of McGirt speaking to children involved a “completely false” misidentification. The following article remains in its original form.)

At Lord Cultural Resources, we honour Black histories, heritage and futures 365 days a year. We want to introduce you to two places where history comes alive, where the past informs the present, and where the future holds endless possibilities.

The legacy of Oklahoma’s early Black pioneers lives on in our daily lives including American pop culture.

Her name does not resonate like that of Rosa Parks, and she did not garner the kind of national attention that a group of black students did when they took seats at a Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, N.C., in February 1960. But Clara Luper was a seminal figure in the sit-ins of the civil rights movement.

The design for a downtown Oklahoma City monument depicting the 13 Black children who participated in the first Katz Drug Store sit-in led by Clara Luper was announced Wednesday.

Black History Month is a time dedicated to examining the past and honoring the many contributions of African Americans throughout U.S. history. This February, Oklahomans can do just that by engaging with the state’s cultural institutions. Many of these organizations have big plans to broaden their audiences and tell a fuller story of Oklahoma’s history in years to come.