A Little Freedom is a Dangerous Thing

When Clara Luper and her students went to New York City in 1957 to perform her play, Brother President, they experienced integration for the first time. The trip opened their eyes to a new way of living and became the impetus to try to bring freedom to segregated Oklahoma. As the NAACP Youth Council leader and a well-respected teacher, Clara Luper brought 13 students to the lunch counter at Katz Drug Store on August 19, 1958, and waited to be served. In this episode, Trait Thompson and Dr. Bob Blackburn discuss Oklahoma’s history of segregation and the fortitude it took to bring change. Their guest is Marilyn Luper Hildreth, daughter of Clara Luper and longtime civil rights activist whose idea for the Katz Drug Store sit-in sparked a nationwide movement.