History Speaks 2021
JoAnne Bland - In Selma
History Speaks 2021 welcomed JoAnne Bland, participant in Bloody Sunday and the Civil Rights Movement. We joined her on site in Selma, Alabama to hear her story.
History Speaks
2014-PRESENT
Planned and executed by Assistant Dean of Students Gary Jones, OC launched History Speaks in February 2014. Since then, history has come alive with speakers like Andrew Young, Diane Nash, John Carlos & Tommie Smith, and more!
Gary Jones
History Speaks Visionary
Assistant Dean of Students
History Speaks brings civil rights icons to campus. Each year Gary invites well-known activists to speak to sold out crowds about the importance of love, respect and learning from others. History Speaks is Gary's legacy.
The First History Speaks
The Little Rock Nine
OC was proud to host two champions of school integration, Carlotta Walls LaNier and Terrence Roberts, for History Speaks: Little Rock Nine in 2014. President deSteiguer had the opportunity to sit down with Carlotta Walls LaNier to discuss her journey through desegregation and her passion for education.
Local News on the Popular Event
Newspaper and television reporters enjoy the opportunity to meet and speak with civil rights activists who were present, involved and leading the events in our history books. They then share the highly impactful experience with their audiences.
KOCO5 News
Hear from a civil rights icon on Sunday as part of Oklahoma Christian University's Black History Month activities
The Oklahoman
'Bloody Sunday' civil rights activist is focus of Oklahoma Christian University event
Past Civil Rights Champions
JoAnne Bland
2021
JoAnne Bland was arrested 13 times by the age of 11 and was one of the youngest participants in Bloody Sunday and the walk from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. Since then, she's become a freedom fighter, a civil rights champion, telling her story to students, parents, teachers - anyone who will listen.
The 8th History Speaks had it's unique challenges, taking place during COVID-19. So, Gary Jones brought History Speaks to living rooms. We were blessed to meet her on site in Selma, Alabama for a reinvented History Speaks.
Raymond Santana
2020
Five innocent kids were wrongly charged, convicted and imprisoned for an attack and rape in New York City's Central Park. They served out their sentences before they were finally exonerated. Raymond Santana visited OC to tell his story of recovery, reconciliation and the need for change.
Andrew Young
2019
Oklahoma Christian University welcomed Ambassador Andrew Young as special guest for our annual History Speaks event. Ambassador Young sat down with President John deSteiguer to talk about the powerful influence of small colleges, civil rights, life with Martin Luther King, Jr., President Carter, voter registration and encounters with the Ku Klux Klan.
Wheeler Parker Jr.
2018
Wheeler returned to Mississippi with his grandfather, Moses Wright during the summer 1955. Traveling with him was his 14 year old cousin Emmett Till. The events of that week changed his life forever. He sat down with President John deSteiguer to discuss life surrounding that incident.
Diane Nash
2017
A Chicago native who had never experienced segregation in public accommodations before moving to the South, Diane Nash went on to become one of the pioneers of the Civil Rights Movement. In 1960 she became the chairperson of the student sit-in movement in Nashville, Tennessee—the first southern city to desegregate its lunch counters as well as one of the founding students of the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee.
Tommie Smith & John Carlos
2016
Olympic medalists Tommie Smith and John Carlos spoke at Oklahoma Christian University’s 2016 History Speaks program. During their visit, OC President John deSteiguer sat down with the civil rights icons to talk about their decision to silently speak out against injustice, as they stood with Olympic gold and bronze medals around their neck in Mexico City.
Claudette Colvin & Fred Gray
2015
Civil Rights Pioneers Fred Gray and Claudette Colvin visited Oklahoma Christian on February 9, 2015. Gray was the attorney for MLK and others. At age 15, Colvin was the first person arrested for resisting bus segregation. We were honored to have heard their stories of courage.