Sen. Young files legislation to appropriate funds to the Clara Luper Civil Rights Center

Oklahoma icon Clara Luper was a civic leader, schoolteacher and activist best known for orchestrating the 1958 Oklahoma City sit-in protests at downtown drugstore lunch counters, which helped to overturn their racial segregation policies. The Clara Luper Civil Rights Center is set to be built in Oklahoma City, and state Sen. George Young wants to appropriate additional funds to help with costs for the museum.

The Oklahoma City Democrat has filed Senate Bill 1383, which would direct the Oklahoma Historical Society to appropriate $625,000 from the Special Cash Fund for the purpose of developing plans and other pre-construction costs related to the Clara Luper Civil Rights Center.

“Clara Luper played an instrumental role in the civil rights movement not only in Oklahoma, but across our nation,” Young said. “I’m very pleased that Oklahoma City will honor her memory and dedication to making America a better place to live with the Clara Luper Civil Rights Center. Senate Bill 1383 will help ensure this project gets to the finish line and becomes a gathering place for Oklahomans for years to come.”

For more information, contact: Sen. George Young at 405-521-5531, or email George.Young@oksenate.gov.

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