MAPS 4 Clara Luper Civil Rights Center final plans approved

Published on April 07, 2026

Download rendering – Credit: Lead Designer Atelier Cory Henry / Architect of Record Bockus Payne Architecture

Oklahoma City Council approved final plans today for the Clara Luper Civil Rights Center as part of MAPS 4. MAPS 4 includes $17.2 million for the construction of a new interpretive center and community gathering space.

The building is named in honor of Clara Luper, an educator, pioneering Civil Rights leader and longtime advisor for Oklahoma City’s NAACP Youth Council. Luper led her students in non-violent demonstrations to desegregate hundreds of establishments across Oklahoma during the 1950s and 60s, helping end segregation in public accommodations.

The new 17,694-square-foot facility will include exhibitions that tell the story of Oklahoma’s civil rights history along with classrooms and an event hall for youth activities, public programs and community gatherings.

“In 2019, with the passage of MAPS 4, we resolved as a community to share our city’s civil rights story with future generations through the creation of the Clara Luper Civil Rights Center,” Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt said. “The ensuing years have brought important planning to ensure this facility will be a success. Upon its opening, the Clara Luper Civil Rights Center will preserve our civil rights history that changed our city forever, it will inspire us to continue building a better city, and it will make a new investment in the heart of Northeast OKC.”

The Center will be located just south of Oklahoma City’s historic Freedom Center building at N Martin Luther King Avenue and NE 24^th Street. The Freedom Center served as the headquarters for the NAACP Youth Council for more than 40 years beginning in 1967. Luper founded the Freedom Center to keep youth involved following the success of the Sit-In Movement. The building was named an historic landmark by the Oklahoma City Historic Preservation Commission in 2018.

The Freedom Center of Oklahoma City nonprofit organization will operate the new Center.

“We are thrilled to move forward with development of the Clara Luper Civil Rights Center as an educational, community and tourism resource in the heart of northeast Oklahoma City,” Freedom Center of Oklahoma City Executive Director Christina Beatty said. “Together, the historic Freedom Center building and the new construction will create a beautiful, pedestrian friendly five-acre campus spanning two and a half blocks that celebrates Oklahoma’s civil rights history indoors and out.”

Outdoor storytelling elements include projections onto the building’s exterior as well as public artwork funded by the City’s 1% for Art ordinance. A request for proposals for art at the Center is currently open.

The project was designed by lead designer Atelier Cory Henry in collaboration with architect of record Bockus Payne Architecture and exhibit consultant G&A. The Center will begin construction this summer and is scheduled to open in 2027.

About MAPS 4

MAPS 4 is a debt-free public improvement program funded by a temporary penny sales tax that will raise a projected $1.07 billion over eight years. Oklahoma City voters approved the sales tax to fund MAPS 4 in a special election on Dec. 10, 2019, moving forward with a unique and ambitious plan to transform our community. The temporary penny sales tax funding MAPS 4 began April 1, 2020, and ends in 2028. More than 70 percent of MAPS 4 funding is dedicated to neighborhood and human needs. The rest is for quality of life and job-creating initiatives. The MAPS 4 Citizens Advisory Board and its six subcommittees will guide MAPS 4 planning and implementation, making recommendations to the City Council. The Council has final authority on MAPS 4. The MAPS Investment and Operating Trust developed a strategic investment plan to support long-term sustainable funding for MAPS 4 projects' operational expenses and maintenance. Visit okc.gov/maps4 for more.

About The Freedom Center of Oklahoma City

The Freedom Center of Oklahoma City is a 501c3 nonprofit organization established to educate, empower and enlighten our nation to reflect on the past, present and future of the Civil Rights Movement in Oklahoma. As caretakers of the historic Freedom Center building, we develop facilities and programs to preserve our history and work towards a world without racism and bigotry.

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Media Contact
Kristy Yager
(405) 297-2550
kristy.yager@okc.gov