Sen. Matthews supports efforts to get state’s Black communities added to the U.S. Civil Rights Trail

OKLAHOMA CITY – Sen. Kevin Matthews extended his thanks to all who participated in last weekend’s open house event in Boley, showcasing the town’s efforts to stimulate tourism and foster entrepreneurship.  Matthews, D-Tulsa, said the event was part of a larger effort aimed at helping Oklahoma’s surviving 13 all-Black communities become part of the U.S. Civil Rights Trail.

With more than 100 locations in some 15 states and Washington D.C., the U.S. Civil Rights Trail, formalized in 2018, includes historically significant sites important to the movement for racial equality.  Currently the trail includes no locations in Oklahoma. 

“Originally, there were more than 50 Black towns in Oklahoma, 13 of which still exist.  Boley was the largest of those with a population of more than 4,000 and a diverse and thriving economy,” Matthews said.  “The plan is for other all-Black communities to showcase their own histories and contributions.  Collectively, this is part of our push to get all of Oklahoma’s Black towns on the U.S. Civil Rights Trail, with a route starting at Greenwood Rising and continuing through these communities all the way to the Clara Luper Civil Rights Center planned for Oklahoma City.”

The Boley open house showcased a new visitors center, coffee shop and tiny cabins to help accommodate tourists.  Attendees, including state and local leaders, business leaders and citizens, also heard details of the town’s plans to host a Smithsonian traveling exhibit next May promoting rural America. 

For more information, contact Sen. Kevin Matthews at 918-955-2283, or email Kevin.Matthews@oksenate.gov.

-END-

CUTLINE #1: Grayson mayor and president of the Oklahoma Black Mayors Association, Leon Anderson, Amanda Bradford, hostess for Smithsonian in Boley, May 2022, Dr. Frances Shelton, mayor of Boley, Muhammad Robbalaa, mayor of Fort Coffee, Sen. Kevin Matthews, D-Tulsa, and Marilyn Jackson, mayor of Clearview, attended a recent community open house in Boley. Matthews holds a frame displaying the first dollar spent in the town’s new souvenir and coffee shop.

CUTLINE#2:  Trait Thompson, executive director of the Oklahoma History Center, Sen. Kevin Matthews, D-Tulsa, and Oklahoma Department of Tourism representative and former Miss Oklahoma, Daneka Allen, at the Boley open house held earlier this month.