A portrait of civil rights icon Clara Luper that was unveiled in spring 2021 will reside permanently in the University Center鈥檚 Shdeed Lounge, school leaders announced.
The portrait, titled "The Mother, The Giant," was created by Leondre Lattimore (BA Studio Art 鈥�20), a former Clara Luper Scholar at OCU who returned to campus in April for a dedication ceremony in the Bass Music Center atrium.
The ceremony included an address from Marilyn Hildreth, Luper鈥檚 daughter, who expressed her appreciation for Lattimore鈥檚 work and talked about her mother鈥檚 efforts to empower youth. Luper, an advisor for the NAACP Youth Council, led a series of 鈥渟it-ins鈥� in the late 1950s and 1960s to protest segregation.
鈥淚鈥檓 here today because a better day is coming in America,鈥� Hildreth said. 鈥淎 better day is coming because of you, the young people that are coming behind us. We tried the best that we could. We passed the torch to another generation, and you represent that generation.
鈥淎nother thing she taught is to believe in the sun, when the sun do not shine, and to believe in the rain, when the rain do not fall, and believe in a God, if you鈥檝e never seen him.鈥�
