OKLAHOMA CENTENNIAL LECTURE SERIES

DOWNTOWN COLLEGE CONSORTIUM

300 Park Avenue
Oklahoma City, OK 73102
405-232-3382

"Oklahoma and the Great Depression - You Are There"

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The first public lecture is entitled "Oklahoma and the Great Depression - You are There." We will explore what life was really like in Oklahoma during this challenging period by taking an up-close look at the lives of Oklahomans from all walks of life-people driven from their land by heat, drought, and dust storm; people who launched the last great American pioneering saga as they formed the massive exodus to California; people who stayed and toughed it out in Oklahoma; even people who led the state through these tumultuous times. This unique, first-person tour de force shines a rare light on what happened-and what we have been told happened, but didn't. Will Rogers, Woody Guthrie, Senator Thomas Gore (great-grandfather of Al), and John Steinbeck-as well as his arch foe, Oklahoma Congressman Lyle Boren, father of future Governor, Senator, and University of Oklahoma President David Boren-are among the remarkable people we will discuss, not to mention some of the brave folks whose names never made it into the history books, even though they helped live the history that fills them.

DATES, TIMES, PLACES:

September 12, 2007, 2:00 p.m.-2:50 p.m.,Pegasus Theatre, University of Central Oklahoma
September 26, 2007, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.,Room TBA, OSU-OKC

"Places Where We Cried"

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The second lecture presents a stirring chronicle of the Cherokee people. You have heard of the "Trail of Tears." Now found out why it really happened and why-before, during, and after--including:

• The key role famed American President Andrew Jackson played.
• How a white Christian missionary, after being jailed for his opposition to the Jackson Administration, battled all the way to the United States Supreme Court to defend the Cherokee people and their land.
• How the Cherokees warred-sometimes literally--for decades among themselves-and names like John Ross and Stand Watie rose high in the annals of Oklahoma-and American-history.
• Who the great Sequoyah really was, and what he really did for his people-and for America.
• How one of the most devastating chapters of the American Civil War raged for four years, right here in Oklahoma, with the Cherokees truly fighting "brother against brother."

DATES, TIMES, PLACES:

November 1, 2007, 1:30 p.m.-3:00 p.m., CU1 in College Union, Oklahoma City Community College
Fall, lunchtime, TBA, Rose State College
October 24, 2007, 2:00-2:50 p.m., Pegasus Theatre, University of Central Oklahoma

"Heroes of Oklahoma"

The final lecture introduces the audience to a gallery of Oklahoma heroes, from across cultures, races, and generations. You will meet the real people who have names you know-or in some cases don't know:

• Marshal Heck Thomas, the fearless lawman on whom John Wayne's famed Oscar-winning character portrayal of Rooster Cogburn was based.
• Alice Robertson, granddaughter of a missionary to the Cherokees, who became the first Oklahoma Congresswoman and only the second in American history.
• Thomas P. Gore, Oklahoma pioneer, one of the Sooner State's two original United States Senators, perhaps the most brilliant orator of his generation, fearless opponent-no matter how high the price--of America's most famous presidents, whose great-grandson is Al Gore-and who was blind.
• Will Rogers, part-Cherokee cowboy, Vaudevillian, internationally-known newspaper columnist and commentator, the most popular movie star in the world, and the most beloved American of his generation.
• Clara Luper, whose memory of her loving daddy's tear-stained face drove her to a peaceful but relentless stand for the rights of black people in mid-late-20th century Oklahoma.
• Mickey Mantle, the country boy who became one of the greatest baseball players in history, and hero to generations of Oklahomans, even as he battled ferocious enemies from within and without.
• The Vietnamese "Boat People," modern-day Sooner heroes who live amongst us but whose horrific but courageous stories few of us know. Such are only a few of the people you will meet who have given Oklahomans not only our history, but our heritage.

DATES, TIMES, PLACES:

November 15, 2007, 1:30 p.m.-3:00 p.m., CU1 in College Union, Oklahoma City Community College

1907 • Celebrate Oklahoma’s Centennial • 2007

Oklahoma: A Century in the Making