Norman, OK to Build Black History Plaza

The new Black History Plaza will be situated on Jones Avenue between Acers and Robinson avenues, becoming the eighth plaza along the Norman Legacy Trail. This 1.5-mile paved trail already features seven other historical plazas with informational plaques and sculptures. The budget for the artwork is set between $75,000 and $90,000. Artists have until April 30, 2026, to submit their proposals for the roughly 1,000-square-foot brick plaza. The selected artist or team will work with a city-hired architect to finalize the layout, which is intended to celebrate the vitality, struggles, and achievements of Norman's Black community. The plaza's creation acknowledges a complex local history. Norman was historically a "sundown town," where African Americans were not permitted to live or even be on the streets after dark until the 1960s. The city council officially issued an apology for this history in 2020. The space will honor trailblazers who broke racial barriers in the city. Key figures include Dr. George and Barbara Henderson, the first Black couple to own a home in Norman, and Don and Etta Johnson, who were the first siblings to integrate the public school system in 1956. Norman was also a key site in the national fight for educational equality. Thurgood Marshall successfully argued the 1948 Supreme Court case *Sipuel v. Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma* after Ada Lois Sipuel was denied admission to the OU law school based on her race. This case was a precursor to the landmark *Brown v. Board of Education* decision. Other notable figures in Norman's Black history include Prentice Gautt, the first African-American football player at the University of Oklahoma, and Anita Hill, a former OU law professor whose testimony during the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings brought national attention to sexual harassment.