Organizing the 'living Dead': Civil Rights in Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1954-1964

Abstract

By providing an in-depth examination of the civil rights movements in Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Oklahoma through the lens of the black newspapers in each city, The Black Dispatch and The Oklahoma Eagle, this thesis introduces a new perspective on the civil rights demonstrations in the state. While there is a tendency to view the lack of violence in the state's civil rights demonstrations as an indication of an easy resolution to the problem of racial equality in the state, my research indicates that government officials pointed to this fact as an example of the state's progressive attitude towards race. In reality, the racism was often more subtle in Oklahoma and, because of this fact, inequality in government, school, and society lingered in the state because of the inattention given it by city and state officials.