Oklahoma City sit-in participants urge George Floyd protesters to stay peaceful

Meredith Luper Hildreth felt pride well up in her chest as she looked out at the crowd gathered for the George Floyd protest in Oklahoma City on Sunday afternoon.

As protesters chanted and listened to speeches condemning police brutality in the United States, Luper Hildreth knew she was in the right place.

“I was just proud that I live in a community that respected the diversity of this city,” Luper Hildreth said.

She’s proud to live in a place where people of all races and backgrounds stand up against injustice, but she said she is disappointed protests across the country have begun to turn violent.

Luper Hildreth is no stranger to protests. Sixty years ago, her mother, Clara Luper, was the NAACP Youth Council adviser who helped organize the Oklahoma City sit-ins that protested segregation in Oklahoma. The sit-ins taught Luper Hildreth the importance of peaceful protests.

“There was never any real violence during the sit-in movement,” Luper Hildreth said. “Oh, there was violence, but not to the type where anything was damaged or anything like that. ... It was passive, nonviolent resistance.”

Other sit-in participants are also speaking out against violent protests. Ayanna Najuma participated in the sit-ins from the age 7 to 14. Joyce Henderson participated as a member of the NAACP Youth Council throughout high school. And Bill Clifford went to sit-ins every Saturday for six months before he moved to a different city for work. They all believe nonviolent protests are the way to initiate change.

“I would say because I did hear Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. deliver the ‘I Have a Dream’ speech in 1963, he would not promote violence,” Henderson said. “One thing the First Amendment does, it gives you the right to assemble, but it does say peacefully. So that’s one thing that we’re going to have to discipline ourselves to do.”

Henderson, Luper Hildreth, Najuma and Clifford all attributed the nonviolence at the 1960s sit-in to the training everyone received before they went out to protests. Every Saturday morning, protest participants were required to undergo training to help them maintain their composure in potentially violent situations. Anyone who couldn’t stay peaceful wasn’t allowed to participate in the sit-ins.

Henderson said today’s protesters should receive training before they hit the streets.

Luper Hildreth said the police who are there to keep the peace should, too.

To avoid violence, Henderson said people must keep the purpose of the protests and rallies in mind. She encouraged them to call out their fellow protesters who try to direct things toward violence because violence is not the purpose of the rallies.

She also reminded participants that it’s just as important to vote as it is to march.

“If you are out there picketing and doing all those things, and especially if you are tearing up property, etcetera, my question to each one first is, ‘Are you a registered voter?’” Henderson said. “Because if you are a registered voter, you can find other ways to express your dissatisfaction, your anger.”

Clifford’s advice to protesters: Leave when things start to turn violent.

“Just go home,” Clifford said. “I don’t mean that to be snide, but it seems that when it turns dark, things get totally off the rails. So, show up. Be peaceful. ... When it starts getting dark and things start to derail, everybody that’s there for a legitimate purpose in terms of the protest on police brutality needs to leave, go home and then let the police do their job.”

Najuma wanted to remind protesters it takes more than just staying peaceful to initiate change. She advised people leading the protests to be strategic and work with different groups.

“Learn from the issues of the past,” Najuma said. “Coalition building is something that was always a part of the sit ins. People who started coming into the fold that originally wouldn’t have given any thought to equity and equality started to have an ‘aha’ moment. ... We sat in from a perspective of being very focused, very purposeful and very strategic.”

Najuma also said change starts with young people and children. She wants people to educate their peers and especially children. The fight against racism has raged in the United States for centuries, and the George Floyd protests are part of that fight, she said.

Najuma, Henderson, Clifford and Luper Hildreth fought for equal rights during the Oklahoma City sit-ins, and they’re all frustrated that 60 years later, that fight isn’t over.

“The young people now are carrying the torch that we carried,” Luper Hildreth said. “Carry it with pride. We don’t have to be violent.

“The struggle for freedom is a long and unwinding fight. We’ve been fighting it a long time. But we cannot let anyone turn this around. We know what we want, and we want to be free.”

Tips for protesters from civil rights leaders

Strategize — Successful protests need to be planned out. People need to come up with strategies and then implement the ones best suited to achieving their goals. Don’t “shoot from the hip.”

Build coalitions — Protesters need to reach out to people from every race and economic background and get them involved. You can’t do it by yourself.

Keep the purpose in mind — Think about the purpose of the protests before you do anything. If what you’re about to do won’t help, don’t do it.

“Be your brother’s keeper” — If you see someone vandalize something or try to instigate a fight, call them out. Let them know their actions aren’t supporting the cause.

Leave at the first sign of violence — Nothing more will be accomplished once the protest turns violent, so just leave so you can come back the next day.

Learn from the past — The civil rights movement of the ‘50s and ‘60s employed many effective strategies to create change, such as training protesters before they went to sit-ins or pickets. Learn about what worked and didn’t work, and then take that knowledge to help you strategize now.

Vote — Voting is another way to make your voice heard that can produce immediate results. Encourage your fellow protesters to vote, too.