SR 29 — Resolution; recognizing and celebrating February as Black History Month.

STATEResolution OFENROLLED OKLAHOMA 2 2nd Session of the 60th Legislature (2026) 3 SENATE RESOLUTION 29NO. By:

Nice29 andBy: Goodwin 4 5 AS INTRODUCED 7 A Resolution recognizing and celebrating February as Black History Month;

Nice, Goodwin, and Kirt A Resolution recognizing and celebrating February as Black History Month;

and honoring the contributions 9 of Black Oklahomans and recognizing 100 years of Black History.

Those Req.communities and other important locations were highlighted in the creation of the Oklahoma Civil Rights Trail, the result of bipartisan legislation approved in 2023;

No.and WHEREAS, the events of the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 are believed to be the single worst incident of racial violence in American history.

3676Long Pageignored 1and 1hidden, communitiesthose andevents otherwere importantbrought locationsto werelight highlightedwhen, in the1997, creationRepresentative ofDon theRoss Oklahomaand CivilSenator RightsMaxine Trail,Horner, theboth result of 3Tulsa, bipartisanchampioned legislation approvedcreating ina 2023;commission which ultimately released a 200-page report containing an official history of the massacre.

and 4 WHEREAS, the events of the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 are believed to be the single worst incident of racial violence in 6 American history.

Long ignored and hidden, those events were 7 brought to light when, in 1997, Representative Don Ross and Senator 8 Maxine Horner, both of Tulsa, championed legislation creating a 9 commission which ultimately released a 200-page report containing an official history of the massacre.

and Req.WHEREAS, cities throughout the state continue to draw attention to the contributions of Oklahomans during the Civil Rights Movement, including the recently dedicated Clara Luper National Sit-In Plaza in downtown Oklahoma City, located on the original site of the Katz Drug Store in Oklahoma City where Luper and members of the Oklahoma City NAACP Youth Council staged a nonviolent protest in 1958 to help bring an end to segregation.

No.A Clara Luper Civil Rights Center is also planned in Oklahoma City;

3676and Page 2 WHEREAS, cities throughout the statestate’s continuehistory, toBlack drawOklahomans attentionhave 2made tosignificant the contributions ofin Oklahomanspolitics, duringbusiness, themedicine, Civilliterature, Rightsmusic, Movement,and 3more, including theHannah recentlyDiggs dedicatedAtkins, Clarawho Luperwas National Sit-In Plaza 4 in downtown Oklahoma City, located on the originalfirst siteBlack ofwoman theto Katzserve 5 Drug Store in Oklahoma City where Luper and members of the Oklahoma 6House Cityof NAACPRepresentatives Youthand Councillater stagedserved aas nonviolentSecretary protestof inState 1958under toGovernor helpHenry 7Bellmon, bringamong anmany endother toaccomplishments. segregation.

A Clara Luper Civil Rights Center is 8 also planned in Oklahoma City;

and 9 WHEREAS, throughout the state’s history, Black Oklahomans have made significant contributions in politics, business, medicine, literature, music, and more, including Hannah Diggs Atkins, who was the first Black woman to serve in the Oklahoma House of Representatives and later served as Secretary of State under Governor Henry Bellmon, among many other accomplishments.

Ralph Waldo Ellison was an American writer,ENR. critic, and scholar, best known for his novel Invisible Man, Req.

No.S.

3676R. Page 3 and became the most widely known man of letters in America.

2NO. Historian, educator, and author John Hope Franklin, best known for 3 his seminal 1947 book From Slavery to Freedom:

A29 HistoryPage of2 Africanwriter, 4critic, Americans,and wasscholar, awardedbest theknown Presidentialfor Medalhis ofnovel Freedom,Invisible Man, and became the 5most highestwidely U.S.known man of letters in America.

Historian, educator, and author John Hope Franklin, best known for his seminal 1947 book From Slavery to Freedom:

A History of African Americans, was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest U.S.

Charlie Christian won acclaim as an 6 American swing and jazz guitarist and was among the first electric 7 guitarists, transforming electric guitar from a rhythm instrument 8 into a leading solo instrument.

Oklahoma’s Leona Mitchell sang for 9 18 seasons as a leading spinto soprano at the Metropolitan Opera in New York and performed for five U.S.

THAT the Oklahoma State Senate recognizes and applauds the contribution of Black Oklahomans in the Civil Rights Movement and efforts by communities and by the state to highlight those accomplishments for future generations, and honors the Req.accomplishments of Black Oklahomans who have been trailblazers in their fields, earning state and national recognition for their talent and dedication.

No.ENR.

3676S. Page 4 accomplishments of Black Oklahomans who have been trailblazers in 2 their fields, earning state and national recognition for their 3 talent and dedication.

4R. 5 60-2-3676 MB 2/17/2026 2:14:50 PM 6 7 8 9 Req.

No.NO.

367629 Page 53 Adopted by the Senate the 19th day of February, 2026.

Presiding Officer of the Senate OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE Received by the Office of the Secretary of State this __________ day of __________________, 20 _______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.

By:

_________________________________ ENR.

S.

R.

NO.

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