The theme for 2026 Black History Month is “A Century of Black History Commemorations,” honoring its 100th anniversary.
This theme emphasizes 100 years of intentional efforts to honor, study, and preserve the diverse history, rich culture, and countless contributions of African-Americans.
Oklahoma has produced many African-American intellectuals, authors, and civil rights activists. These trailblazing men and women made significant contributions to Oklahoma’s and America’s literature, history, and the fight for equality.
• Ralph Ellison (1913–1994): A scholar, literary critic and author best known for his landmark novel Invisible Man (1952), which won the National Book Award for Fiction in 1953. The novel became a classic of both African-American and American literature.
• John Hope Franklin (1915–2009): A foremost historian and author of From Slavery to Freedom, the most influential and authoritative textbook on the African- American experience. Franklin became the first African American to lead the American Historical Association.
• Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher (1924–1995): A pioneering civil rights lawyer and educator who fought segregation in higher education. After a three-year legal battle, Fisher was admitted to the University of Oklahoma’s law school.
• Clara Luper (1923–2011): A teacher, author, and civil rights activist. In 1958, Luper led the sit-in movement to desegregate lunch counters in Oklahoma City.
• Nathan Hare (1933–2024): A sociologist, author, activist. Hare was a student at Langston University and became a pioneer in Black studies. He co-founded The Black Think Tank.
• Hannah Atkins (1923–2010): A leader in civil rights, served in the United Nations. Atkins was the first Black woman elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives in 1968.
• Melvin B. Tolson, Jr. (1930–2011): The first African American professor at the University of Oklahoma. Tolson taught Spanish and French.
• George McLaurin (1894–1968): The first Black man to attend the University of Oklahoma. McLaurin’s 1948 legal battle against segregated seating was a pivotal case in the fight for education equality.
Those brilliant men and women set the stage for a new era in African-American history here in Oklahoma that will resonate the world over.
So indeed, Black History IS Oklahoma’s, America’s and the World’s History.
