Calvin Luper visits Oklahoma City’s Clara Luper National Sit-In Plaza, marking the 1958 Katz protest

A return to the corner where Oklahoma City’s sit-in movement began

Calvin Luper, one of the children who participated in the 1958 lunch-counter protest at Katz Drug Store, has visited the Clara Luper National Sit-In Plaza in downtown Oklahoma City. The site sits at North Robinson Avenue and West Main Street, the location of the former Katz store where a group of Black youth and their teacher staged a peaceful sit-in that helped force the desegregation of Katz lunch counters within days.

The plaza was publicly dedicated on November 1, 2025, as a permanent commemoration of Clara Luper and the original student “sit-inners.” It is designed as both a memorial and an interactive public-history space in the city center.

What happened at Katz in August 1958

On August 19, 1958, Clara Luper—an Oklahoma City educator and NAACP Youth Council adviser—led 13 Black children in a sit-in at the Katz Drug Store lunch counter. The group asked to be served in a segregated public accommodation, remained seated, and returned over successive days. The action ended with Katz desegregating its lunch counters, becoming a catalyst for additional sit-ins and related civil-rights efforts in Oklahoma City in the years that followed.

While later sit-ins in other states became more widely known nationally, the Oklahoma City campaign has been documented as an early example of the tactic that would spread through the broader Civil Rights Movement.

A monument built to place youth activism at the center of the story

The Clara Luper National Sit-In Plaza’s central feature is a bronze sculpture installation that recreates the lunch-counter scene. The work includes a 4-ton, 16-foot-long bronze counter and life-sized figures representing Clara Luper, the 13 student participants, and a Katz employee. An empty stool is incorporated into the design to invite visitors to sit at the counter and engage directly with the historical setting being portrayed.

• Location: North Robinson Avenue and West Main Street, downtown Oklahoma City
• Dedication: November 1, 2025
• Design: Life-sized bronze figures at a recreated lunch counter, including an open seat for public interaction

How the project was developed

The plaza was created through a multi-year effort involving civic leaders, artists, and surviving participants. The installation was produced by StudioEIS, a New York-based sculpture and design firm that worked with sit-in participants to ensure historical accuracy. The project was funded through private donations.

The plaza’s design places Oklahoma City’s 1958 youth-led protest in a prominent downtown setting, emphasizing the role of organized, nonviolent action by children and their teacher in changing access to public spaces.

Calvin Luper’s visit adds a living link to the events memorialized at the plaza, underscoring that the people represented in bronze were real children whose actions helped reshape public life in Oklahoma City.