Has Time Run Out for Freedmen Representation in the Oklahoma Centennial?  

With the upcoming Centennial Celebrations in Oklahoma , from what I’ve seen on the official celebration page there is a total lack of information concerning the history of Indian Territory Freedmen mentioned? 

http://www.oklahomacentennial.com

I don’t know whether it is by design, ignorance or total disregard for a significant portion of the states history. Just looking at the events planned for the year and one can only come to the conclusion that black folks came to Oklahoma circa 1889 and not before. There is such a heavy emphasis on “Native Americans” and their culture that goes to great pains to accent the positive that lost in that mythology is the contributions, achievements, history and cultural influences of Freedmen and African-Native Americans to the tribes and the state.

Clearly the leaders in the black community of Oklahoma have been asleep at the switch too allow such gross insufficiencies to their overall history and impact on the state. But I also surmise that the current leaders of the majority community have succumbed to the notion that blacks have contributed little to the state and have no history that comes before 1889 when “white settlers” managed to prop themselves up as the people who brought civilization to the state.

The following list is what is touted as celebrating the “African American” presence in Oklahoma . The fact that they want to celebrate the “first” black school in the state just adds to the insult and denial of the Freedmen presence in the state and evidently to overlook the fact that slavery existed in the state prior to statehood. With omissions like these it is any wonder that most freedmen descendants who originate or have family that originate in the state are just as “unaware” of their rightful place as “First Families” of Indian Territory and Oklahoma.

To add insult to injury, this group of well meaning individuals have the temerity to have a celebration for Juneteenth which ignores the fact that slaves within their borders were not emancipated a full year after those enslaved in Texas were “freed!” This is beyond sad and most likely too late for the needed corrections to this gross oversight!

It is almost unbelievable that someone would compose the nonsense of a "freedmen" family journeying along the "Trail of Tears" and settling in a " Black Township " why can't they state that any blacks traveling the trail would have been enslaved, and settled on a plantation under the oppression of an Indian "master?" This is bordering on criminal!

Terry Ligon

The 21st Annual Oklahoma Black Heritage Celebration
Feb 23, 2007
Oklahoma City - Festivals/Events The event recognizes the contributions of Black Oklahomans who have had a major impact on our state and our shared history. From journalism to jazz and politics to cow punching, African Americans have played a big part in forging our state's pioneering spirit.

Sweet Biscuits / Ebony Voices
Jan 1, 2007 - Dec 31, 2007
Various Locations - Heritage Activities Sweet Biscuits follows a fictitious North Carolina "freedman" family as they journey along the "Trail of Tears" to Oklahoma and settle in one of the then nearly 50 Black townships. Ebony Voices profiles of Oklahoma African American women.  

Stillwater 's African-American School Site
Stillwater - Art/Landmarks Recognition of the location of the first public school site for African Americans of Stillwater. A plaque will be placed on the site, in the 11th Street City Park, in recognition of the acknowledgement.

Shawnee 's Juneteenth 2007
Jun 9, 2007
Shawnee - Festivals/Events An event celebrating the message of freedom and equality first proclaimed to the enslaved people of Galveston , Texas two and one half years after the end of the Civil War. A time to reflect on the African American Experience and what it means to all races and nationalities; a day to promote Martin Luther King's dream: "Let Freedom Ring."

Muskogee 's Dr. Martin Luther King Soul Food Cook-off
Jan 15, 2007
Muskogee - Festivals/Events The soul food cook-off is an event that draws over a thousand people to enjoy African American cuisine. Various cooks come in with their specialty and the general public will judge. Each contestant decorates their own booth and each booth is judged.  

Lincoln County African American History (1889 - 1954)
Chandler - Multi-Media African American history in Lincoln County from 1889 to 1954 includes an oral history that will be made into a CD with narration and more than 50 historical photos of Lincoln Co. Oklahoma.

  El Reno 's Centennial at Fort Reno
Oct 18, 2007 - Oct 21, 2007
El Reno - Festivals/Events Living history depictions and tributes to the people (politicians, homesteaders, boomers, U.S. Calvary, Buffalo Soldiers, drovers, and Native Americans) as Oklahoma and Indian Territory transitioned to statehood. The event will involve Post Cemetery tombstone tales, living history camps on the historical parade grounds, educational interpretations, Civil War and Indian War Military camps and event reenactments.

  Chickasha 's 'School Days'
Jun 30, 2007
Chickasha - Festivals/Events A forty minute, I Act Play depicting 'school days' from the 1920's through 1930's and what a rural African American school was like in Oklahoma . The play will demonstrate how lessons were taught, lunch time procedure, and recess games and activities. Performed at the site of the Verden Separate One Room School .

  Buffalo Soldier Monument
State Capitol Complex - Museums/Memorials This statue represents African Americans who served in the U.S. Army during the 1800s.

  African American History Plaza
State Capitol Complex - Art/Landmarks A plaza reflecting the experiences and history of African Americans in Oklahoma will be created on the grounds of the State Capitol. The proposed location is 18th & Lincoln Blvd. , just south of the Capitol.

  African American Museum and One Room School
Chickasha - Historic Restorations Construction of a 1,500-square-foot African American museum and restoration of a historic one-room school.  

 Thu Dec 28, 2006

A current trip to the Oklahoma Historical Society bookstore will reveal a very sad state indeed.  Books pertaining to the Freedmen of Oklahoma as well as to African Americans in general are segregated and put in a non-visible corner of the bookstore.  No books pertaining to the early days that reflect a black presence are located there.   A close colleague inquired why books on Indian Territory black history such as Black, Red and Deadly by Art Burton were put in the corner when they were a part of Native American history as well, the manager of the bookstore responded simply with a shrug and a remark that "well, most people don't know that."  

The question is----what is being done to prove that African Americans WERE a part of the Territory prior to statehood?  Whose responsibility is it?  It is our history. Should it not be our responsibility to express dismay and insist on more prominence.  

The greater question is what is being done on a larger scale to acknowledge the Centennial and how are we getting the story out to the public about the rich and dynamic history that blacks had in Oklahoma decades before statehood?  

---An Observer Outside of Oklahoma----  

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Last modified: August 02, 2008