Oklahoma City Council has approved final plans for the Clara Luper Civil Rights Center, a key project within MAPS 4 that will bring a new cultural and educational space to Northeast Oklahoma City. Backed by $17.2 million in MAPS 4 funding, the 17,694-square-foot facility will serve as both an in terpretive center and community gathering space. Plans include exhibitions focused on Oklahoma’s civil rights history, along with classrooms and an event hall designed for youth programming, public events and community use. Named in honor of civil rights leader Clara Luper, the center pays tribute to her legacy as an educator and pioneering activist. Luper led nonviolent sit-ins with members of the NAACP Youth Council during the 1950s and 1960s, helping desegregate hundreds of establishments across the state. Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt said the project reflects a long-term commitment made by voters through MAPS 4. He noted the center will preserve the city’s civil rights history while inspiring future generations and investing in the Northeast OKC community. The center will be built just south of the historic Freedom Center near Martin Luther King Avenue and NE 24th Street. The Freedom Center served as headquarters for the NAACP Youth Council for more than four decades beginning in 1967 and was designated a historic landmark in 2018. The Freedom Center of Oklahoma City will operate the new facility. Executive Director Christina Beatty said the project will create a five-acre campus combining the historic building and new construction into a pedestrian-friendly space that highlights Oklahoma’s civil rights story. In addition to indoor exhibits, the site will feature outdoor storytelling elements, including building projections and public art funded through the city’s 1% for Art ordinance. A request for proposals for artwork is currently open. The project is led by Atelier Cory Henry, with Bockus Payne Architecture serving as architect of record and GA as exhibit consultant. Construction is expected to begin this summer, with the Clara Luper Civil Rights Center slated to open in 2027. The post MAPS 4 Clara Luper Civil Rights Center Plans Get Final Approval appeared first on Oklahoma Gazette. ...read more read less