Honoree: Protesting for civil rights taught valuable lessons

OKLAHOMA CITY – An Oklahoma City woman who helped usher in the civil rights movement says spending weekends protesting made for an unusual childhood but taught valuable lessons.

Marilyn Luper Hildreth was among 13 youths who took part in a sit-in at an Oklahoma City drug store starting on Aug. 19, 1958. The state is honouring the Oklahoma City NAACP Youth Council for the demonstration’s 60th anniversary.

Hildreth’s mother, the late Clara Luper, was an activist who led the group.

The Woody Guthrie Center on Friday awarded Luper and the group its Oklahoma Changing World Prize. Their sit-in preceded the 1960 demonstration in Greensboro, North Carolina, which is often considered the start of the civil rights movement.

The 70-year-old Hildreth says she learned young that committing to a cause means giving up something. For her, that was often socializing.