In 1948, it was joined by a second case, McLaurin v. Oklahoma. The truth was, Debarr served as the Grand Dragon of the Oklahoma KKK. “To me that is tremendous courage, that is tremendous faith, that is tremendous dedication. In 1915 Oklahoma made national history by becoming the first state in the Union to segregate public pay telephone booths. Finally, the policy shows a world of segregated integration. In this deal, Oklahoma State will pay Langston $15 million over 10 years. Wattley said her only regret about her book is that she never had the opportunity to meet Sipuel Fisher or discuss the experience of desegregating the law school. As requested, each of these barriers would be temporary. The hypocrisy of fighting for freedom abroad exposed many of the flaws within the American racial landscape.

Request Permissions. Oklahoma mattered more because of its national reputation and its success, but most importantly because of the pride it gave to Oklahomans. Segregation and racial discrimination have long histories in Oklahoma. By the 1920s, the racial tension was palpable. Her white, and predominantly male, classmates welcomed her, and helped her catch up by providing notes and other assistance. ", University of Oklahoma President George Lynn Cross With Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher, 1948. Demonstrators at Green's in Oklahoma City(16934, Oklahoma Historical Society Photograph Collection, OHS). Likewise, he benefited from significant experience playing in integrated settings. THE DESEGREGATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA, 1946-1950 by John T. Hubbell Racial segregation in Oklahoma's public schools, colleges and uni-versities, initiated by the territorial legislature in 1897 and incorporated into the state constitution in 1907, remained unchallenged until 1946.1 Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. From the inception of their movement into the Sooner State, blacks were subject to the racism of the times. To contribute to our efforts, make your donation online, or contact our Membership department. The walls of university and the stadium were now integrated by allowing access to African Americans, but within those walls they remained segregated. The oral arguments took place in January 1948, and days later the high court ruled the State of Oklahoma had to provide Sipuel Fisher with a legal education comparable to white students. Although the last mob murder of an African American occurred in 1930, the black fear of whites lasted much longer, as did Oklahoma's era of rigid segregation. degree programs. In 1922, Upton Sinclair estimated that 2/3rds of the OU faculty were Klan members. In 1956, however, that would change.

The segregated classrooms at OU didn’t formally end until a separate 1950 U.S. Supreme Court decision, so like McLaurin, Sipuel Fisher started school with designated seating. The truth was, Debarr served as the Grand Dragon of the Oklahoma KKK. The solons banned interracial marriages and miscegenation, both of which became felonies. Fitzgerald shared sketches of each plan in his memo to President Cross.

The Oklahoma Supreme Court upheld that ruling on April 29, 1947, and the NAACP appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. in 1938; he began considering ways to challenge Oklahoma’s system of segregated higher education. “All these things that gave her a sense of self-confidence and self-worth because that’s what African-American communities had to do to enable their children to survive the burdens and pressures that were being put upon them by the broader world,” Wattley said.

Prior to 1949 black students were not allowed to attend the university and African Americans were prevented from supporting Sooner sports teams in the stadium. confirms this, noting when the new policy was announced, “no action was taken in regard to Negroes who are not students.” Second, the insistence on using temporary barriers and signage reveals not just an overt concern for the optics of segregation, but also the realization that segregation was impermanent and unsavory. One as a dean, two as faculty members. Most importantly, Gautt was an excellent student with the right disposition to make it at OU. While winning football teams captured headlines, helping to build a name for state and the up-and-coming Cold War University, the long-1950s saw an intense struggle for racial justice.

Marshall and fellow attorney Charles Hamilton Houston’s strategy was to make establishing truly equal education for African-Americans so costly that no state could bear the financial burden of continuing segregation.

The club was banned later that year after an incident with a rival club involving a firearm. Becoming a Sooner: Prentice Gautt and the Integration of Oklahoma Football, Beyond Football: The Political Career of Bud Wilkinson (Part 2), Beyond Football: The Political Career of Bud Wilkinson (part 1), The Bud Wilkinson Show: Television, the NCAA, and the Cold War.

The NAACP’s legal strategy shifted, because now they had to prove Langston’s law school was not equal to the University of Oklahoma's. The 1907 Oklahoma Constitution did not call for strict segregation.

“There was a lynching in Chickasha, in which it was determined that the sheriff actually assisted in opening the jail and allowing the lynching to happen,” Wattley said. No part of this site may be construed as in the public domain. The Oklahoman confirms this, noting when the new policy was announced, “no action was taken in regard to Negroes who are not students.” Second, the insistence on using temporary barriers and signage reveals not just an overt concern for the optics of segregation, but also the realization that segregation was impermanent and unsavory. In brand-new Oklahoma Territory, for example, the First Territorial Legislature allowed counties the option of mixed or segregated schools, and almost all counties voted to segregate them. Playing for Oklahoma meant sharing that pride and extending Bud Wilkinson’s Oklahoma to a new demographic. The following (as per The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition) is the preferred citation for articles:James M. Smallwood, “Segregation,” The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=SE006. Theodore Roosevelt would veto the document.

Family and university call for adherence to safety measur, A student at one college and a provost at another explain why in-person education is more important, Live Updates: Latest News on Coronavirus and Higher Education, College football can help Americans get through the current difficult times (opinion), Trump administration proposes major overhaul to student visa rules, Online learning is not the future of higher education (opinion), Needed: A New Rehearsal Space for Democracy, Why America Needs College Football -- Part 2, The Profound Connection Between Spirituality and Social Change. Following the McLaurin decision in 1950, Wilkinson similarly explained that “the University of Oklahoma will use any undergraduate Negro on its varsity team” provided that they are permitted to enroll. Ultimately the Regents selected the wall option to divide the seating areas.