Oklahoma Civil Rights Trail historical marker to be unveiled in Boley

OKLAHOMA CITY – Sen. Kevin Matthews, D-Tulsa, announced the first of a number of historical markers designating the Oklahoma Civil Rights Trail will be unveiled on Highway 62 in Boley this Saturday, Nov. 2, at 10 a.m. Matthews was principal author of legislation, along with Sen. Bill Coleman, R-Ponca City, Rep. Jason Lowe, D-Oklahoma City, and Rep. Ken Luttrell, R-Ponca City, creating the trail and dedicating $1.5 million for the project. The Civil Rights Trail will highlight the state’s Black towns and locations, along with Native American sites of historic significance.

The dedication ceremony will mark Matthews’ last official act as a member of the Oklahoma Senate as he is term limited this year.

“These historic markers are the first indicators of an official trail across the state highlighting these historic towns and communities,” Matthews said. “The trail gives us the opportunity to ensure our role and legacy in the Civil Rights Movement is preserved for future generations. This also represents tremendous tourism protentional for Oklahoma.”

According to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), which opened 2016, by last year, more than 10 million people had visited the museum in Washington, D.C. Matthews said a large number of those same visitors are interested in seeing other locations, including those in Oklahoma, to learn more about their history and place in the Civil Rights Movement.

Matthews said while the funding secured in the 2024 session is for grants to create or enhance visitors centers at each location along the trail, the historical markers have been funded by the federal 400 Years of African American History Commission. Among those attendees at the unveiling will be Harvard attorney and historian Hannibal Johnson, Oklahoma U.S. Sen. James Lankford’s appointee to the commission; Executive Director Addie Richburg; and Commission Chair Ted Ellis. Boley officials and officials from other towns along the trail are expected to attend as well.

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For more information, contact:  

Sen. Kevin Matthews at 918-955-2283, or Kevin.Matthews@oksenate.gov