Public is Invited to Groundbreaking for New Clara Luper Civil Rights Center

OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma City leaders will break ground Wednesday, July 22 at 10:00 a.m. on the $17-million MAPS 4 Clara Luper Civil Rights Center, a new interpretive center and community gathering space. The center will be located just south of Oklahoma City’s historic Freedom Center building at N. Martin Luther King Avenue and NE 24th Street.
The building is named in honor of Clara Luper, an educator, pioneering Civil Rights leader and longtime advisor for Oklahoma City’s NAACP Youth Council. Luper led her students in non-violent demonstrations to desegregate hundreds of establishments across Oklahoma during the 1950s and ‘60s, helping end segregation in public accommodations.
The new 17,694-square-foot facility will include exhibitions that tell the story of Oklahoma’s civil rights history along with classrooms and an event hall for youth activities, public programs and community gatherings.
“Our city’s civil rights history has local and national significance,” Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt said. “That history created the city that we now know, but in 2019, it was still history that was largely unknown to many. Our residents set out to change that by making a commitment in MAPS 4 to establish a place where this story will be told, and by also establishing an endowment, so this place will always have the resources it needs for basic operations. After much planning, we finally reached the historic groundbreaking for the Clara Luper Civil Rights Center in Northeast OKC. I’m proud of the people of Oklahoma City for committing to this project, and I know it will not only teach us important history but it will inspire us for decades to come.”
Outdoor storytelling elements include projections onto the building’s exterior as well as public artwork funded by the City’s 1% for Art ordinance. The public art selection process is underway.
The project was designed by lead designer Atelier Cory Henry, architect of record Bockus Payne Architecture, and exhibit consultant G&A. Crossland Construction is the contractor. The Center is scheduled to open in 2028.
Just north of the Clara Luper Civil Rights Center is the privately renovated Freedom Center, which served as the headquarters for the NAACP Youth Council for more than 40 years beginning in 1967. Luper founded the Freedom Center to keep youth involved following the success of the Sit-In Movement. The building was named an historic landmark by the Oklahoma City Historic Preservation Commission in 2018. The Freedom Center of Oklahoma City, a 501c3 nonprofit organization, will operate the Civil Rights Center.
“We are thrilled to reach this milestone,” Christina L. Beatty, executive director of Freedom Center of Oklahoma City, said. “Groundbreaking is the very visible fruit of the tireless effort put in by the Freedom Center’s staff and board, MAPS staff, the design team, and community members who have lent their voices and shared their dreams along the way.”
About MAPS 4
MAPS 4 is a debt-free public improvement program funded by a temporary penny sales tax that will raise a projected $1.07 billion over eight years. Oklahoma City voters approved the sales tax to fund MAPS 4 in a special election on Dec. 10, 2019, moving forward with a unique and ambitious plan to transform our community.
About The Freedom Center of Oklahoma City
The Freedom Center of Oklahoma City is a 501c3 nonprofit organization established to educate, empower and enlighten our nation to reflect on the past, present and future of the Civil Rights Movement in Oklahoma. As caretakers of the historic Freedom Center building, we develop facilities and programs to preserve our history and work towards a world without racism and bigotry.