This year marks the 66th anniversary of the Katz Drugstore sit-in, a pivotal moment in Oklahoma City’s history, led by civil rights activist Clara Luper. This peaceful protest sparked a movement that transformed our city, making a lasting impact on the fight for desegregation.
Join us downtown as we honor Clara Luper’s legacy with events that celebrate her remarkable contributions. Discover the story behind the Katz Drugstore sit-in and learn more about the woman who helped shape the course of history in Oklahoma City.
“We could not afford violence. You could not win with violence.” – Clara Luper
Clara Luper spearheading the peaceful sit-in movement
Clara Luper was a high school teacher and advisor to the Youth Council of the OKC NAACP.
For a year, Luper and the OKC NAACP engaged in ongoing discussions with business owners, advocating for an end to segregation in downtown Oklahoma City.
“They would explain why they wouldn’t do it, that they’d go out of business,” said Clara Luper.
However, she envisioned a future free from segregation for herself and future generations and she committed to do everything in her power to make it a reality.
“It was a determination that we will not be treated as less than because we’re equal to,” said Dr Gloria Griffin in response to the Clara Luper sit-ins.
The Katz Drugstore Sit-In Changed OKC History
On August 19, 1958, Luper led 13 of her students from the NAACP youth council, all dressed in their nicest clothes, and they sat at the segregated lunch counter at Katz Drug Store on Robinson Avenue in downtown Oklahoma City.
“We’re going to look dignified. And we’re going to quietly sit until you serve us,” remarked Dr Karlos K Hill, a professor at Oklahoma University.
As the children and Luper sat patiently, they faced hostility—one woman coughed in their faces, and another knocked a child off a stool. Yet, they remained steadfast. Despite being denied service, they returned the following day. And the day after that. And the day after that. Their simple but powerful mission was to ask a business to serve children.
“We’re going to practice something as old as time itself. And it’s fresh as the day’s newspaper. Love your enemies. Do good to others who do evil toward you.” – Clara Luper
On the third day of the peaceful sit-in their persistence paid off, Katz Drugstore said they would de-segregate all of their stores and they served Luper and the children.
The sit-in didn’t end at Katz Drugstore, instead, it created a chain movement of non-violent sit-ins that spanned over the course of 6 years until Oklahoma City was no longer segregated.
Today, Clara Luper and the Katz Drugstore sit-in she orchestrated stand as a pivotal moment in the city’s civil rights movement.
In honor of the anniversary of the sit-in, you can commemorate the significance of the resilience and courage of Mrs. Luper and her students at special downtown celebrations.
Celebrate the Katz Drugstore Sit-In Anniversary in Downtown OKC
Freedom Story
August 15 at 6 PM at Oklahoma Contemporary in collaboration with the Clara Luper Legacy and the With Love Project. Learn more.
March and Reenactment
August 17 at 9 AM starting at Frontline Church (1104 N Robinson) to Kaisers (1039 N Walker)
See the website for additional events happening on August 16 & 18: claraluperlegacy.com/
The Clara Luper Bronze Statue Coming to City Center
Oklahoma native, LaQuincy Reed was commissioned to create a bronze sculpture of Clara Luper which will be installed at the Clara Luper Sit-In Plaza at Robinson Avenue and Main Street, where the drugstore once stood.
The statue depicts Luper during the first sit-in at Katz Drugstore as she stood and watched over the children.
The sculpture is expected to be finished and installed in spring 2025.
Learn more about the statue here:
A monument in bronze for a teacher and her lesson for the ages by Freedom Center of Oklahoma City
An Interview with Sculptor LaQuincey Reed by Freedom Center of Oklahoma City
Sculpture planned downtown to honor the Oklahoma City sit-in movement by The Oklahoma
Additional Articles About Clara Luper
Discovering the Walls of Segregation by the Clara Luper Legacy Foundation
The Oklahoma Sit-In Movement by the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum
65 years after OKC’s sit-in, Clara Luper’s ‘radical love’ still reverberates today by The Oklahoman
Clara Shepard Luper: The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture by the Oklahoma Historical Society
