Celebrating The 65th Anniversary Of The Oklahoma City Sit-Ins

It’s been nearly 65 years since a group of Black students marched to a local business in Downtown Oklahoma City asking to be served at a “whites only” restaurant.

This sparked the historic Oklahoma City sit-ins.

The right to sit and enjoy lunch at a restaurant in Downtown Oklahoma City wasn't as easy as it sounds for Ayanna Najuma in 1958.

“We sat at KATZ drug store for three days before they said yes,” Najuma said.

Najuma was 7-years-old at the time. She was one of more than ten students to participate in the Oklahoma City sit-ins in an effort to desegregate businesses.

“We asked for a hamburger and a coke please and we just sat and talked very quietly. Many of us brought our books,” Najuma said.

Their teacher was civil rights leader Clara Luper.

“We started out by contacting the restaurant association and negotiating with them for a couple of years and they came back to us and said ‘no we will not let you eat in the restaurants here in Oklahoma City because our white customers don't want to sit next to a colored person,’” Marilyn Luper-Hildreth said.

Luper helped prepare her students to start one of the first sit-ins during the civil rights movement.

“We were fighting for a cause, we were fighting for something, we were trying to right a wrong in this country, in this city, in this state,” Luper-Hildreth said. 

As they reminisce on that historic day, they want others to feel empowered and inspired to make a difference. Najuma believes there's more work to be done.

“The 65th anniversary is really a call to action for me for people to understand that Oklahoma City may have looked different in 1958, but the mindset is somewhat the same,” Najuma said.

The first event celebrating the 65th anniversary of the Oklahoma City sit-ins will be at the Oklahoma History Center. 

Sit-In Anniversary Events:

Thursday, August 17, 6 p.m., a gospel musical concert, entitled “We’ve Come This Far by Faith” featuring the Dunjee Choir, the Ambassador Children’s Choir and other musical groups will be held at the Oklahoma History Center, 800 Nahid Zuhdi Drive. 

Friday, August 18, 6 p.m., an art experience inspired by Clara Luper and the 1958 Sit-In movement, along with a panel discussion on the “Freedom Story” by sit-in participants, will be held at the Contemporary Arts Museum, 11 N.W. 11 Street.

Saturday, August 19, 9 a.m., a reenactment of the Oklahoma City Sit-In March will begin at Frontline Church, 1104 N. Robinson and end at Kaiser’s Grateful Bean Café, 1039 N. Walker. The Clara Luper Legacy Committee invites the public and sends a special call out to anyone who had a family member participate in the Oklahoma City Civil Rights Movement to join us in the reenactment and celebration of the 65th Anniversary. 

Sunday, August 20, 6 p.m., The Freedom Fiesta Celebration Program will be held at Fifth Street Baptist Church, 801 N.E. 5th Street, featuring keynote speaker, Pastor A. Byron Coleman, Senior Pastor of Fifth Street Baptist Church