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CONTINUE OUR BLACK HISTORY MONTH COVERAGE. ONE DAY, CLARA CAME TO ME AND SAID, I’M STARTING THIS GROUP CALLED THE COMMANDOS, AND I WANT YOU TO BE A PART OF IT. AND SHE SAID, AS A MATTER OF FACT, I WANT YOU TO HAVE THE MEETINGS AT YOUR HOUSE. GIROUX LAMBERT IS ONE OF MANY YOUNG MEN WHO HELPED FIGHT FOR JUSTICE UNDER CLARA LOOPER’S LEADERSHIP. BUT THEIR ROLE WAS A LITTLE DIFFERENT. THEY WERE CALLED MINUTEMEN. COMMANDOS. WE WERE THE. WE WERE A GROUP WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO BE READY TO GO IN A MINUTE, WHERE WE GOT THE MINUTEMEN COMMANDOS, AND YOU LOOK BACK AND YOU SAY, I DIDN’T THINK IT WOULD BE THIS FAR, BECAUSE WHEN I WENT TO PLACES YOU COULDN’T GET IN, YOU COULDN’T DRINK THIS. YOU COULDN’T EAT THAT. I GOT INTO THE NAACP. I STARTED UNDERSTANDING WHAT WAS HAPPENING, HAPPENING TO THE BLACK COMMUNITY. AND I WANTED TO BE A PART OF TRYING TO MAKE THAT CHANGE. THEIR PURPOSE TO PROTECT THE SINNERS AND SERVE AS A BUFFER BETWEEN THEM AND AN ANGRY PUBLIC DURING SEGREGATION, WE WAS TO PROTECT THE CROWD OR THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE SIT INS. BUT FOR ME, CLARA WANTED US TO BE ABLE TO OWN A PHONE CALL. SHE WOULD CALL AND SAY, YOU NEED TO BE DOWN TO THIS PLACE THAT’S NOT SERVING AFRICAN AMERICANS. WE NEED A GROUP TO THE COMMANDOS DOWN THERE. NOW, THE GROUP WAS ORGANIZED THROUGH THE NAACP AND TRAINED UNDER CLARA LOOPER’S LEADERSHIP. TO ME, IF IT WASN’T FOR MISS LOOPER, I WOULDN’T BE HERE THE WAY SHE TAUGHT ME AND WHAT SHE TAUGHT ME, SHE WAS KIND OF LIKE A DRUM MAJOR FOR JUSTICE. DECADES LATER, THESE MEN SAY THEY ARE PROUD. THEY ANSWERED THE CALL NOT WITH VIOLENCE, BUT WITH DISCIPLINE, FAIT
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The unsung heroes of Oklahoma’s civil rights sit-ins: Minute Men Commandos
During the Civil Rights Movement, the Minute Men Commandos played a crucial role in protecting sit-in participants, ready to act at a moment’s notice
During the Civil Rights Movement, the Minute Men Commandos were a group of young men ready to protect Oklahoma City sit-in participants under schoolteacher and civil rights leader Clara Luper’s leadership, serving as a buffer between them and an angry public.”One day, Clara came to me and said I’m starting this group called the Commandos, and I want you to be a part of it. She said, ‘Matter of fact, I want you to have the meetings at your house,'” said Jahruba Lambeth. Lambeth was one of many young men who helped fight for justice under Luper’s leadership, with their role being slightly different from others. “My understanding for the Commandos, we were a group who was supposed to be ready to go in a minute — where we got the Minute Men Commandos,” Lambeth said.Charles E. Woods spoke of the progress made since those days.”You look back, and you say I didn’t think it would be this far. Because when I went to places, you couldn’t get in, you couldn’t drink this, you couldn’t eat that,” Woods said. The commandos’ purpose was to protect the sit-in participants and serve as a buffer during segregation. “A lot of people said we were to protect the crowd or participants in the sit-ins. But for me, Clara wanted us to be on a phone call. She would call and say you need to be down to this place that’s not serving African Americans. We need a group, the commandos down there now,” Lambeth said.The group was organized through the NAACP and trained under Luper’s leadership. Woods expressed his gratitude for Luper’s influence, saying, “To me, if it wasn’t for Ms. Luper, I wouldn’t be here. The way she taught me, and what she taught me, she was kind of like a drum major for justice.”Decades later, these men are proud they answered the call, not with violence, but with discipline, faith, and courage.
During the Civil Rights Movement, the Minute Men Commandos were a group of young men ready to protect Oklahoma City sit-in participants under schoolteacher and civil rights leader Clara Luper’s leadership, serving as a buffer between them and an angry public.
“One day, Clara came to me and said I’m starting this group called the Commandos, and I want you to be a part of it. She said, ‘Matter of fact, I want you to have the meetings at your house,'” said Jahruba Lambeth.
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Lambeth was one of many young men who helped fight for justice under Luper’s leadership, with their role being slightly different from others.
“My understanding for the Commandos, we were a group who was supposed to be ready to go in a minute — where we got the Minute Men Commandos,” Lambeth said.
Charles E. Woods spoke of the progress made since those days.
“You look back, and you say I didn’t think it would be this far. Because when I went to places, you couldn’t get in, you couldn’t drink this, you couldn’t eat that,” Woods said.
The commandos’ purpose was to protect the sit-in participants and serve as a buffer during segregation.
“A lot of people said we were to protect the crowd or participants in the sit-ins. But for me, Clara wanted us to be on a phone call. She would call and say you need to be down to this place that’s not serving African Americans. We need a group, the commandos down there now,” Lambeth said.
The group was organized through the NAACP and trained under Luper’s leadership.
Woods expressed his gratitude for Luper’s influence, saying, “To me, if it wasn’t for Ms. Luper, I wouldn’t be here. The way she taught me, and what she taught me, she was kind of like a drum major for justice.”
Decades later, these men are proud they answered the call, not with violence, but with discipline, faith, and courage.
