By AP
Oklahoma City, OK – Okla civil rights leader remembered as trailblazer
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Civil rights activist Clara Luper has been remembered as a champion of racial equality whose peaceful sit-in demonstrations opened doors for black Americans.
Luper was eulogized yesterday at a funeral attended by about 2,000 in Oklahoma City. She died June 8 at the age of 88.
Gov. Mary Fallin called Luper a national leader who was convinced that racial segregation was wrong.
NAACP Board of Directors chairwoman Roslyn M. Brock credited Luper with starting the sit-in movement that became a hallmark of civil rights demonstrations nationwide.
In August 1958, Luper led a group of three adults and 14 students during a sit-in at the Katz Drug Store lunch counter in Oklahoma City.
The store chain eventually integrated lunch counters at 38 stores in Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas and Iowa.