OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – A Congresswoman from Oklahoma has introduced legislation that would rename a local post office in honor of a civil rights icon.
On Tuesday, Congresswoman Kendra Horn introduced House Resolution 5597, which would rename the downtown Oklahoma City Post Office in honor of Clara Luper, who is known as the ‘Mother of Oklahoma’s Civil Rights Movement.’
Beginning in 1958, Luper led the Oklahoma City sit-in movement to desegregate downtown establishments. The sit-ins were among the first civil rights sit-ins in America and helped desegregate lunch counters and establishments across the state.
Several years later, she was the spokesperson for striking sanitation workers.
“Oklahoma City was ground zero for America’s civil rights movement,” said Congresswoman Horn. “We need to share that proud history and to make sure that the story of the historic sit-in movement led by Clara Luper and the NAACP Youth Council is never lost. Renaming Oklahoma City’s Downtown Post Office as the Clara Luper Post Office is just one small step we can take to honor those who struggled for civil rights here in Oklahoma and inspired activists from across the country to do the same. Our fight for equality and freedom is not over. I hope that the Clara Luper Post Office serves as a reminder of the work we have left to do.”
Under the measure, the post office would become the “Clara Luper Post Office.”
Horn’s resolution is co-sponsored by the entire Oklahoma congressional delegation in the House of Representatives.