Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611

  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Behold the Walls: Commemorative Edition Volume 3

Behold the Walls: Commemorative Edition Volume 3

Luper, Clara
Hill, Karlos K.
Blackburn, Bob L.

Paperback

Series: Greenwood Cultural Center African Diaspora History and Culture, Book 3

Biographies GeneralBlack American History

Publisher Price: $24.95

ISBN10: 0806196440
ISBN13: 9780806196442
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
Published: Aug 12 2025
Pages: 312
Weight: 0.91
Height: 0.69 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
On August 19, 1958, Clara Luper and thirteen Black youth walked into Katz Drug Store in Oklahoma City and sat down at the lunch counter. When they tried to order, they were denied service. As they sat in silence, refusing to leave, the surrounding white customers unleashed a torrent of threats and racial slurs. This first organized sit-in in Oklahoma--almost two years before the more famous sit-ins in Greensboro, North Carolina--sparked other demonstrations in Oklahoma and other states. Behold the Walls is Luper's engrossing firsthand account of how the movement she helped launch ended legal racial segregation.

First published in 1979, Behold the Walls now features a new introduction and 33 newly selected historical photos. Luper's direct, unvarnished account captures the immediacy of the events she witnessed. As a Black woman, Luper refused to let either racism or sexism deter her from stepping forth as a leader. Born in 1923, Clara Luper taught history in Oklahoma public schools and led the NAACP Youth Council. The students who sat in at Katz Drug and other businesses belonged to that organization. Luper highlights the contributions of others, especially young people, in breaking down the walls of segregation in Oklahoma through numerous demonstrations, marches, and voter registration campaigns.

This commemorative edition of Luper's eye-opening autobiography, published near what would have been her 100th birthday, as well as the 65th anniversary of the sit-ins, offers invaluable insight into the history of protest in the early years of the civil rights movement. With racial inequality still at the forefront of national debate, Behold the Walls places Luper's efforts in the larger national context of the struggle to resist injustice and inspire positive change.

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