Civil rights activist Clara Luper has died

OKLAHOMA CITY -- As she watched a television broadcast of President Barack Obama's inauguration in January 2009, Clara Luper had tears in her eyes. The Oklahoma civil rights icon knew that her and other activists' struggle had reached a milestone with the election of the nation's first black president.

"This is our day," she said at the time, calling his inauguration the "fulfillment of dreams of people." Luper, who died late Wednesday at age 88 after a lengthy illness, led sit-ins that helped integrate drugstore lunch counters in four Midwestern states.

While sponsor of the Oklahoma City NAACP Youth Council, the former high school teacher, radio host and author -- who was arrested 26 times during protests -- prepared young blacks for the sit-ins, many of whom praised her Thursday as a loving, firm advocate.

"She took a community that had little except their voices and their feet, and she used those resources to the best of their ability for change," said state Rep. Mike Shelton, a family friend and member of Oklahoma's Legislative Black Caucus.

"In some way, she has touched every life in the state of Oklahoma, whether they know it or not, because of her contributions, her persistence, her dedication to her fellow man," the Oklahoma City Democrat said. "There aren't many people you can say that about."

On Aug. 19, 1958, a 35-year-old Luper led three adult chaperones and 14 members of the youth council in a sit-in at the Katz Drug Store lunch counter in downtown Oklahoma City. The store refused to serve the group but the protesters refused to leave, and the sit-in lasted for several days.

The store chain eventually agreed to integrate lunch counters at 38 Katz Drug Stores in Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas and Iowa. During the next six years, the local NAACP chapter held sit-ins that led to the desegregation of virtually all eating establishments in Oklahoma City.

Luper's daughter, Marilyn Hildreth, said her mother instilled the same fight in her own family.

"We talked about it all the time, because our whole family took part in it," said Hildreth, who said her mother died Wednesday evening in Oklahoma City. "I think mother saw a lot of advancements [in civil rights] and she told us to always stay on the battlefield. The fight continues."