The Uncrowned Queens’ founders have a feature article in the Summer edition of the Western New York Heritage Press, Inc. The article traces the history and development of the Institute from it’s inception to the present. In 2009, the Institute will observe a milestone, its tenth year of operation. We are observing that milestone throughout the year with the theme: “Uncovering the Past to Preserve the Future: A Decade of Progress”. This article is a fitting inaugural event to spotlight that up-coming milestone. We are appreciative to George K. Arthur, president of the Board of Directors of the Western New York Heritage Magazine and to John Conlin, its Executive Editor for the opportunity to write for this prestigious publication. Copies of the magazine are available in Tops and Wegman’s supermarkets and in book stores; Barnes & Nobles, Waldenbooks, Borders and Talking Leaves. More...
Documentary Recounts the Story of the Tulsa Race Riot Survivors’ Fight for Reparations On October 2nd and 3rd, a premier showing of “Before They Die” will take place in Buffalo (more details to come). Lead attorney, Charles J. Ogletree, film maker, Reggie Turner, and race riot survivors, Otis Clark, 105, Dr. Olivia Hooker, 94 and Wess Young, 93 will join us in a forum to discuss the survivors’ fight for reparations in the Tulsa Race Riot case. More....
Sunday, June 29, 2008, The Uncrowned Queens Institute for Research and Education on Women, Inc., will host the Uncrowned Queens in Their Hats: Back by Special Request reception at the University at Buffalo, Allen Hall Theatre on the South Campus. More...
In April, 2008, the Institute initiated the Uncrowned Community Builders Affiliate Program. An Uncrowned Community Builder (UCB) Affiliate is any organization, e.g. an educational institution, museum, community-based organization or municipality that supports the mission and vision of the Uncrowned Queens Institute and agrees to replicate the Uncrowned Community Builders Model, in part or in its entirety. More...
As we approach the 87th anniversary of the worst race-related violence in our nation’s history, the Uncrowned Queens Institute has played an instrumental role in the aftermath of this historic event. First, in joining with others to ensure that the events and the impact of the Tulsa Race Riot and Massacre on the African American community of Tulsa and the nation are never forgotten or diminished. The lessons of Tulsa are instructive for us even in this contemporary era. More...
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Olivia Hooker was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma in 1915. She moved with her family to Tulsa, Oklahoma a few years later. Her father was a businessman, who operated a clothing store in the Greenwood District and her mother was a former teacher. Dr. Hooker was a child of six when the Tulsa Race Riot occurred. She recalls being awakened by the sounds of thudding noises outside her house on the morning of June 1st. one of her most poignant memories is of her mother carefully leading her to the window and pointing to the hill, where a machine gunner was stationed. Her mother then said, “That is a machine gun on that hill, and there’s an American flag on it. That means that your country is shooting at you.” More...
Even the worst ice storm in the history of Tulsa and the State of Oklahoma could not prevent the historic proceedings to dismiss 86 year-old charges against A.J. Smitherman and 54 others, for inciting the Tulsa Race Riot, from being held on December 11th. The court proceedings, officiated by District Court Judge Jesse S. Harris, took place at the Greenwood Cultural Center in the heart of the Greenwood district. The Center, adjacent to the Sam and Lucey Mackey Home, a rare surviving example of the early-day residential architecture of the District, is a central meeting place for cultural events in the Black community. It was an appropriate setting for this event, which provided yet another opportunity for the Tulsa community to acknowledge the injustice of the Race Riot and Massacre of May 31-June 1, 1921. More...
In 2003, when Dr. Peggy Brooks-Bertram and I were informed that our application to the Oklahoma Centennial Commission for the “Uncrowned Queens of Oklahoma 1907-2007” was accepted as an official Centennial project, we had an idea but could not fully imagine the impact that this project would have. It has taken us across the state of Oklahoma, from Oklahoma City, to Enid, to Tulsa, to Altus, and introduced us to many gracious and welcoming Oklahomans. And, as was our goal, it has taken us across time into Oklahoma’s rich African American history, while simultaneously providing some unanticipated bridges connecting two communities, separated by distance but united by culture and history. More...
Uncrowned now crowned by queens
Wearing it proudly looking back at times when life was unstable
We always knew that God was able
Man wore thin but the Almighty showed us that we could win
Along came two queens
Giving us the means to look beyond ourselves
to see beauty to see talent
Bright stars with much intelligence
Realizing dreams of women who walked with dignity and poise
Allowing the world to see the gift of life in you and in me
Creating pieces in the universe
Wearing their crowns though uncrowned
Just look at the hidden genius that has arisen
Now crowned
Lovely women, beautiful souls,
solidly bound by life
Bold, blessed as they progress
showing that we are a treasure chest
History rests with us all
Thanks to you Drs. Bertram and Nevergold
Our stories can now be told
Legacies can be passed onto our young ones
Let them see all the greatness that flows from you, from me
All of the uncrowned queens are now crowned
Let us go on and be all that we can be.
Allie Freeman November 2007
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