Two students are planning to paint a mural on campus in honor of Clara Luper.
Leondre Lattimore, studio art senior, and Shakurah Maynard, graphic design/studio art senior, are planning to paint a portrait of Clara Luper in the stairwell of the Tom and Brenda McDaniel University Center.
Lattimore is a Clara Luper scholar and said he wants to further remember her on campus.
“Clara Luper has a great legacy as a civil leader who organized one of the first ever sit-ins in Oklahoma,” Lattimore said. “Given the amount of work that she did and the level of commitment she had to education, I think it’s only right we honor her. Her legacy is great, and I want more people to know about the great things she did in our community.”
The Clara Luper Scholarship Program includes full tuition, room and board for four years and membership in the President’s Leadership Class.
Annette Barrios, music freshman, receives a Clara Luper scholarship and said it is important to remember the strides Luper made in the community.
“Honoring her legacy through art is a gorgeous tribute,” she said.
Barrios also said the scholarship is what made it possible for her to attend the university.
“Growing up with a single mom, I knew college would be beyond our reach without hefty scholarships,” Barrios said. “Clara Luper’s generosity has given and continues to give students the opportunity to study at an institution that values service, leadership and the arts. I’m infinitely grateful for that.”
Maynard said although she isn’t a Clara Luper scholar, she also thinks it’s important to honor Clara Luper.
“I think it’s significant to have a tribute to Clara Luper on campus, especially since our biggest scholarship is named after her,” Maynard said. “The whole scholarship is built on the chance to give diverse students a chance to go to college when, a lot of the times, it’s not financially feasible otherwise.”
Lattimore and Maynard have discussed the idea of creating a mural in Luper’s honor since they were freshmen.
“Right now, the mural is a combination of mine and Leondre’s painting styles,” Maynard said. “Leondre has a consistent use of doves in his work, and I’m good at portraiture. The portrait will be Clara Luper with doves flying around her, so that’s how we’ll be combining our styles.”
Lattimore said the mural is projected to be completed by the end of the semester.
“We started designing over winter break. The mural started out as a sketch, and then we put it into Photoshop to see a more realistic version of how it will look,” Lattimore said. “We’re going to have to work around the building’s busiest hours when we paint. We’ll probably try to paint more at night, but we’ve discussed the option of blocking the stairway off for certain periods of time when we’ll need the entire area for safety precautions.”
Maynard said before the mural is painted, there will be a ceremony.
“We’re going to have a ceremony to announce the mural where we invite people from the community and honor Clara Luper’s daughter, Marilyn Luper Hildreth,” Maynard said.
The ceremony will be at noon on Feb. 28 in the Great Hall in Tom and Brenda McDaniel University Center.
Maynard said she’s excited for the opportunity to paint the mural.
“Student projects are a great way to bring new creative artwork on a price tag the university can afford,” Maynard said. “It’s great to have student art on campus because there are so many talented artists at our school.”
For any questions about the mural or the ceremony, students can contact Levi Harrel, dean of students and student affairs, at ljharrel@okcu.edu.
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