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.

Christina L. Beatty is the Project Director for the Freedom Center and the Clara Luper Civil Rights Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. This $25 million initiative will commemorate the life and work of the civil rights activist Clara Luper (1923–2011). In 1951, Clara Luper earned a master’s degree in history from the University of Oklahoma and taught history for decades in the Oklahoma City Public Schools system. We recorded this conversation on August 9, as Beatty prepared for the 64th anniversary of Oklahoma City’s first sit-in at the Katz Drugstore in Oklahoma City. The transcript has been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.

Celebrating our city’s past, present and future.

OKLAHOMA CITY (Feb. 22, 2022) – Paycom Software, Inc., (NYSE:PAYC), a leading provider of comprehensive, cloud-based human capital management software, donated $50,000 on behalf of the organization and its employees to Freedom Center of Oklahoma City to support the center’s educational programming about the civil rights movement in Oklahoma. This donation honors Black History Month and illustrates Paycom’s value to serve and improve the quality of life in the communities it serves.