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[Pages H2239-H2240]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HONORING CIVIL RIGHTS ICON CLARA LUPER
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from
Oklahoma (Ms. Kendra S. Horn) for 5 minutes.
Ms. KENDRA S. HORN of Oklahoma. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to
highlight the visionary and unwavering leadership of civil rights icon
and notable Oklahoman Ms. Clara Luper.
Six months ago, I got to witness history as Oklahoma City
commemorated the 60th anniversary of the sit-ins she organized. I rise
today because, even as a fifth-generation Oklahoman, I realized how
little I knew.
Clara Luper and her students sparked a movement, the sit-ins that led
into our Nation's civil rights movement. They deserve to be a household
name.
Clara Luper made her mark in a time when people of color couldn't
even walk into the front door of Oklahoma City businesses. They were
relegated to hidden back rooms.
But she had a vision for equality, a heart for service, and a
commitment to justice. She, in her words, ``believed in a sun when it
didn't shine and the rain when it didn't fall.'' She knew that Oklahoma
and this country could be a place where everyone is treated with
respect, dignity, and humanity.
Even as a history teacher at Dunjee High School in Spencer, Oklahoma,
Ms. Luper instilled those principles in her students. Her steadfast
commitment to ending racism and systemic discrimination inspired her to
organize America's first sit-in.
In August 1958, she and 14 of her NAACP Youth Council students walked
up to a lunch counter they knew would refuse them, and they ordered a
hamburger and a Coke. They were denied, but they did not waver. They
knew what was on the line because, in Ms. Luper's words, ``within that
hamburger was the whole essence of democracy.''
At their own personal peril, they returned each day with more people
until they broke the barrier. It was never easy. The protesters were
verbally and physically assaulted, and Ms. Luper received death
threats.
Because of Ms. Luper and her students' fearlessness and
determination, the Katz Drug Stores integrated their lunch counters,
not just in Oklahoma City but also in Missouri, Kansas, and Iowa.
When the 1958 sit-in happened in Oklahoma City, a group of college
students in North Carolina were inspired by what had taken place in
Oklahoma City, and they took note. In 1961, those students launched the
Greensboro, North Carolina, sit-in at the Woolworth lunch counter,
which fueled momentum within the civil rights movement.
It didn't end there. For years, Ms. Luper and others continued their
fight. The sacrifices continued, too.
Authorities arrested Ms. Luper 26 times during her fight for freedom.
Clara Luper empowered young people to imagine a future brighter than
their present and taught them how to make that future a reality.
She changed lives and planted seeds of ethical leadership into those
who were lucky enough to be mentored by her. Each of her former
students talks about the pivotal role Ms. Luper played in instilling
confidence, character, and dignity in them.
Generations reap the benefit of her sacrifice and efforts to
integrate not only businesses in Oklahoma City but educational spaces.
Ms. Luper integrated the history department at the University of
Oklahoma, becoming the first Black graduate of that master's program.
Her contributions are reflected across our
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own State, in a namesake scholarship program at Oklahoma City
University, a corridor on the northeast side of Oklahoma City, a
classroom at the University of Central Oklahoma, by the designation of
the Oklahoma City Public Schools District building as The Clara Luper
Center, and naming the African American studies department at the
University of Oklahoma after her.
As a lifelong Oklahoman and representative of the Fifth Congressional
District, and as an American, I recognize how we are beneficiaries of
Clara Luper's efforts to create a more just and equitable place to
live. I cannot and will not take that history and impact for granted.
Although we have come so far because of her sacrifices and the
sacrifices of other heroes during the civil rights era, there is so
much work to be done. Even with the number of accolades given to her,
the best way we can honor Ms. Luper is to uphold her legacy through
commitment to justice and equality in the policies that we propose.
She knew that democracy is not a spectator sport. It is our duty as a
Congress and as Americans to make good on the constitutional promise of
establishing justice and ensuring domestic tranquility, so we must
continue to work for an inclusive, equitable place for everyone to live
and feel safe, as well as to build an economy where every American has
the opportunity to thrive.
Thank you to the sit-inners, and thank you to Clara Luper for your
resilience and for giving us the torch to carry.
____________________
