Oklahoma Civil Rights Trail receives State backing

 

The Oklahoma state legislature (House and Senate) has approved a cross-party Bill to create the Oklahoma Civil Rights Trail, which will ‘connect all-Black (African American) towns and locations significant to the civil rights movement, including many Native American sites of historical significance’. “Oklahoma originally had more than 50 ‘Black towns’ - 13 of which still exist today and are important to the overall story of our state’s history and its role in the US Civil Rights movement,” commented Senator Kenneth Matthews, D-Tulsa, co-sponsor of the Bill with Senator Bill Coleman, R-Ponca City. “Those efforts to recognize and secure the fundamental rights of all our citizens should be showcased for the positive force they represent.”

The Oklahoma Civil Rights Trail will begin at Standing Bear Park in Ponca City, then proceed to the site of the 1920s Osage Reign of Terror in Fairfax (subject of a major new Scorsese / DiCaprio / de Niro movie ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ screening in October 2023).

Sen. Coleman, who represents Ponca City + Fairfax in the Senate, added “Having a Civil Rights Trail will help not only Oklahomans but the world share in celebrating our African American + Native American heroes, whose courageous actions forever changed our state and nation. This Trail will shine a light on both the tragedies and triumphs throughout our state’s history, all of which make up the fabric of Oklahoma’s diverse and inspiring heritage.”

From Ponca City and Fairfax, the Trail will continue through the state’s all-Black communities, which include Boley; Brooksville; Clearview; Grayson; Langston; Lima; Red Bird; Rentiesville; Summit; Taft; Tatums; Tullahassee; and Vernon.

It will then move on to Greenwood Rising and the Pathway to Hope in Tulsa - both of which commemorate and recount the story of the Tulsa ‘Black Wall St’ Massacre of 1921, before ending at the Clara Luper Center, currently under construction in Oklahoma City.

Tags: Oklahoma State, Bill Coleman, Kenneth Matthews, The Oklahoma Civil Rights Trail, Sen. Coleman, Ponca City