Oklahoma Academic Standard 6. The student will investigate how post-war social, political, and economic events continued to transform the state of Oklahoma from the 1950s through the present.  

Objective 6.1  Evaluate the progress of race relations and actions of civil disobedience in the state including:

  A.  judicial interpretation of the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment which ultimately resulted in the desegregation of public facilities and public schools and universities

  B.  landmark Supreme Court cases of Sipuel v. Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma (1948) and McLaurin v. Oklahoma Board of Regents for Higher Education (1950)

  C.  lunch counter sit-ins organized by Clara Luper and the NAACP

  D.  leadership of Governor Gary in the peaceful integration of the public common and higher education systems. 

In a Nutshell

Segregation laws and practices were an unfortunate part of Oklahoma’s history and has affected many African Americans today. However, students should appreciate the fact that many Oklahomans led the charge in desegregating public facilities and schools even before the landmark Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. For example, Clara Luper’s sit in movements originating in Oklahoma City sparked nationwide student-led nonviolent protests that would eventually force many public businesses to desegregate.In addition, Oklahomans desegregated higher education facilities by challenging segregation in the highest courts.

Teacher Action 

Student Action 

• Guide students to evaluate the impact of perspectives, civic virtues, democratic principles, constitutional rights, and human rights on efforts by Oklahoma’s African Americans to desegregate society.

•  Assist students in understanding and analyzing the role of informed citizens in their political systems and provide examples of how Oklahomans helped challenge the segregationist policies during the Jim Crow era.  

• Compose a narrative writing, citing evidence from informational texts related to race relations and the application of civil disobedience during Oklahoma’s civil rights movement. 

• Assess the significance and impact of individuals and groups of the civil rights movement throughout local and national history, tracing the continuity of past events to the present. 

Key Concepts 

Misconceptions 

• segregation, Jim Crow, racism,  prejudice, discrimination, civil rights, human rights, equality, equal access, equal opportunity, "separate but equal" public facilities, court-ordered busing

• role of U.S. Supreme Court,  14th Amendment, Equal Protection Clause 

• role of NAACP, Clara Luper, Ada Lois Sipuel, George McLaurin, Chief Justice Earl Warren, Governor Raymond Gary, Federal District Judge Luther Bohanon

• methods of protest and civil disobedience 

• A few students may assume that during this era most whites were prejudiced against African Americans; in reality, citizens from all backgrounds and ethnic groups were active in the Civil Rights movement, both locally and nationally.

• Some students may assume that efforts at integration of public education prior to Brown v. Board of Education were non-existent;in reality, Oklahoma was at the forefront of desegregation attempts on a voluntary basis.

Instructional Resources