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Someday Is Now: Clara Luper and the 1958 Oklahoma City Sit-ins
"Not only does this book highlight an important civil rights activist, it can serve as an introduction to child activism as well as the movement itself. Valuable." — Kirkus Reviews starred review
"Relatable and meaningful ... A top addition to nonfiction collections." — School Library Journal starred review
More than a year before the Greensboro sit-ins, a teacher named Clara Luper led a group of young people to protest the segregated Katz drugstore by sitting at its lunch counter. With simple, elegant art, Someday Is Now tells the inspirational story of this unsung hero of the Civil Rights movement.
As a child, Clara Luper saw how segregation affected her life. When she grew up, Clara led the movement to desegregate Oklahoma stores and restaurants that were closed to African Americans. With courage and conviction, she led young people to “do what had to be done.” Perfect for early elementary age kids in encouraging them to do what is right and stand up for what is right, even at great cost, this is a powerful story about the power of nonviolent activism.
Someday Is Now challenges young people to ask how they will stand up against something they know is wrong. Kids are inspired to follow the lessons of bravery taught by civil rights pioneers like Clara Luper.
This moving title includes additional information on Clara Luper’s extraordinary life, her lessons of nonviolent resistance, and a glossary of key civil rights people and terms.
"Relatable and meaningful ... A top addition to nonfiction collections." — School Library Journal starred review
More than a year before the Greensboro sit-ins, a teacher named Clara Luper led a group of young people to protest the segregated Katz drugstore by sitting at its lunch counter. With simple, elegant art, Someday Is Now tells the inspirational story of this unsung hero of the Civil Rights movement.
As a child, Clara Luper saw how segregation affected her life. When she grew up, Clara led the movement to desegregate Oklahoma stores and restaurants that were closed to African Americans. With courage and conviction, she led young people to “do what had to be done.” Perfect for early elementary age kids in encouraging them to do what is right and stand up for what is right, even at great cost, this is a powerful story about the power of nonviolent activism.
Someday Is Now challenges young people to ask how they will stand up against something they know is wrong. Kids are inspired to follow the lessons of bravery taught by civil rights pioneers like Clara Luper.
This moving title includes additional information on Clara Luper’s extraordinary life, her lessons of nonviolent resistance, and a glossary of key civil rights people and terms.
36 pages, Hardcover
First published August 7, 2018
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248 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews
April 14, 2025
The story of Clara Luper is told in this wonderful book - our children need 'true' role models - now more than ever. Love the simple yet elegant art helps to tell the story of this important event. It seems to me that there is very little discussion on what peaceful protests look like; more and more violence seems to be considered as a viable solution. This book is a good example of peaceful descent.
June 29, 2019
"You make your changes in this world"--Clara Luper
Never heard of Clara Luper??! Me, neither. And maybe even in Oklahoma, as 1958 fades steadily into the past, they might forget that a little more than fifty years ago, and not just in the deep south, not just in big cities with access to powerful media, civil rights actions took place, and when that happens, one hook in forming the historical record is to highlight the name of a person who rose out of the group to take leadership.
And in this case, an African Americana teacher! And leader of the NAACP Youth Council, where they enacted a now familiar (to those of us who are older) strategy: She invites some of her students to sit down with her a whites only lunch counter. And with children and other adults, makes a change for equality, for justice. I was glad to read it and to now know the story.
Never heard of Clara Luper??! Me, neither. And maybe even in Oklahoma, as 1958 fades steadily into the past, they might forget that a little more than fifty years ago, and not just in the deep south, not just in big cities with access to powerful media, civil rights actions took place, and when that happens, one hook in forming the historical record is to highlight the name of a person who rose out of the group to take leadership.
And in this case, an African Americana teacher! And leader of the NAACP Youth Council, where they enacted a now familiar (to those of us who are older) strategy: She invites some of her students to sit down with her a whites only lunch counter. And with children and other adults, makes a change for equality, for justice. I was glad to read it and to now know the story.
June 27, 2018
Clara Luper is another unsung hero of the Civil Rights movement. After a field trip to New York City where there was no segregation, Luper and her students return to Oklahoma City and cannot make peace with the unjust laws that forced them to take their food outside.
"Then Clara Luper taught them about investigation, negotiation, education, and demonstration. With these four steps of nonviolence, the students were prepared to make sacrifices for justice."
This led them to organize sit-ins at Katz drugstore. ..and the rest is history.
"Then Clara Luper taught them about investigation, negotiation, education, and demonstration. With these four steps of nonviolence, the students were prepared to make sacrifices for justice."
This led them to organize sit-ins at Katz drugstore. ..and the rest is history.
March 31, 2020
RATING: 4.5 STARS
2018; Seagrass PressQuarto Group
Someday is Now is a biographical/historical picture book about social justice in America. There is so much that a kid can learn about in this book, as they are entertained with the story. As I read through it, it felt like a story about a superhero....and that's what it is. A young girl is told by her father that some day the world will be equal for all. As she watches the "some day" seem further apart. As an adult she begins to teach children what they can have some day, and realizes that someday needs to be today. I didn't know about Clara Luper, so I am going to search Wikipedia and look up some other things on this amazing hero.
***I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from the publisher through Edelweiss. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.***
2018; Seagrass PressQuarto Group
Someday is Now is a biographical/historical picture book about social justice in America. There is so much that a kid can learn about in this book, as they are entertained with the story. As I read through it, it felt like a story about a superhero....and that's what it is. A young girl is told by her father that some day the world will be equal for all. As she watches the "some day" seem further apart. As an adult she begins to teach children what they can have some day, and realizes that someday needs to be today. I didn't know about Clara Luper, so I am going to search Wikipedia and look up some other things on this amazing hero.
***I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from the publisher through Edelweiss. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.***
September 3, 2018
60 years ago, Clara Luper and a group of students led the first sit-in at an Oklahoma City business, Katz Drug store.
They simply wanted to enjoy their milkshakes like any other kid while feeling all grown up sitting at the counter.
Instead of just enjoying a meal, Clara led a group of students to learn the 4 steps of peaceful resistance:
Investigation
Negotiation
Education
Demonstration
Clara will inspire kids from pre-school to high school to make sacrifices for justice one small act at a time.
Thank you to author and illustrator for making sure stories about black women and children don’t go ignored or untold.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions, of course, are my own.
They simply wanted to enjoy their milkshakes like any other kid while feeling all grown up sitting at the counter.
Instead of just enjoying a meal, Clara led a group of students to learn the 4 steps of peaceful resistance:
Investigation
Negotiation
Education
Demonstration
Clara will inspire kids from pre-school to high school to make sacrifices for justice one small act at a time.
Thank you to author and illustrator for making sure stories about black women and children don’t go ignored or untold.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions, of course, are my own.
April 12, 2019
Wow...just wow. Oklahoma's own hero of civil rights has her own book. Clara Luper was raised to believe that 'someday' she and other African Americans could go to integrated schools, and drink out of the clean water fountains..she waited.
She became a teacher and inspired her students to write and produce a play that got noticed by NAACP...they went to NYC and they saw what integration should look like...parks for all, Arlington Cemetery for all veterans.
She and her children returned to OKC with the resolve that 'someday is now.' The book tells the story of the sit-ins at Katz, and how Clara and her children changed the world.
Inspiring and very accessible for youngsters
She became a teacher and inspired her students to write and produce a play that got noticed by NAACP...they went to NYC and they saw what integration should look like...parks for all, Arlington Cemetery for all veterans.
She and her children returned to OKC with the resolve that 'someday is now.' The book tells the story of the sit-ins at Katz, and how Clara and her children changed the world.
Inspiring and very accessible for youngsters
April 10, 2019
I appreciate how students can be exposed to the Civil Rights Movement where children were involved. Great story for an elementary biography unit.
October 10, 2018
Someday is Now is a children’s book about the life of Clara Luper, a young black woman from Oklahoma City who would unwittingly spark a string of lunch counter sit-ins that would help to break up segregation in the South. As a little girl, Clara dreamed of the day when segregation would be no more, when she could fully participate in society the way that white folks could. As an adult, she pursued her education and became a teacher that empowered and encouraged her students to actively, but nonviolently, assert their rights. After a class trip to the desegregated North, her students were further impassioned to take action, and after trying other avenues and failing, opted to sit-in at a lunch counter, ordering and refusing to go outside as was expected. Instead, they sat in the Whites Only section, despite being yelled at, called horrible names, even having food thrown at them. They stayed and studied and returned the next day. And the next. And the next. Until the business owner finally broke down and made all of his locations fully accessible to people of all colors. Clara and her students then moved onto the next business, and the next, for years, making strides towards desegregation one business at a time, and inspiring others to do the same.
What a powerful story about the power of nonviolent activism, as well as the power that even the smallest of us have to change the world. While I wasn’t crazy about the illustrations (usually an important factor for me when it comes to children’s books), the history and the message in this book are priceless. I’m very much looking forward to reading it with my children.
Note: I received this book from the publisher via Edelweiss. I pride myself on writing fair and honest reviews.
What a powerful story about the power of nonviolent activism, as well as the power that even the smallest of us have to change the world. While I wasn’t crazy about the illustrations (usually an important factor for me when it comes to children’s books), the history and the message in this book are priceless. I’m very much looking forward to reading it with my children.
Note: I received this book from the publisher via Edelweiss. I pride myself on writing fair and honest reviews.
March 16, 2019
Often youngsters and the adults in their lives may feel powerless and frustrated by the inequities they see all around them. This picture book biography provides tips for how to resist in nonviolent ways while telling the story of Clara Luper. A teacher and civil rights activist, Luper had grown up hearing her father speak of the changes that were to come eventually. But change surely did seem slow in coming. After she and her students traveled to New York City at the behest of the NAACP to perform a play she had written, the youngsters had the chance to see that there were places where segregation did not exist. Once they returned to Oklahoma City, their home, they successfully integrated one store's lunch counter. It's pretty amazing that this took place back in 1958 and that youngsters were the activists. The illustrations are quite interesting as is the back matter that tells more about Luper and her efforts and contains some archival photographs. Clearly, this woman was mover and shaker, and it is wonderfully encouraging to have her story available. There will be youngsters who will follow her lead in working for change now. After all, they may wonder just long they are expected to be patient while others try to sort things out or ignore them. How courageous those children must have been!
April 4, 2019
As someone who doesn't remember EVER learning about this gem of history, it had me hooked from the beginning. The book is set in the 1930s, when young Clara Luper and her friends decide to combat segregation using the four steps of nonviolence: “investigation, negotiation, education, and demonstration.” The betrayal of Clara's White friends when forced to make a choice is heartbreaking. However, this peaceful protest is a testament to quiet strength. Not every child needs a bull horn or a stage with microphones to affect powerful change. These sit-ins at the lunch counter effectively convey the urgency the kids feel seeing the violence of the civil rights movement. I also appreciated the reflection of all shades of melanin. This nuance is thanks to an own voices author vs. a White author researching the civil rights movement and writing about it.
Not only does this book highlight an important civil rights activist that has long since been overlooked, it is a great introduction to activism for kids that understand they too are never too little to make a difference.
Not only does this book highlight an important civil rights activist that has long since been overlooked, it is a great introduction to activism for kids that understand they too are never too little to make a difference.
October 30, 2018
Someday is Now: Clara Luper and the 1958 Oklahoma City Sit-Ins by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich, illustrated by Jade Johnson. PICTURE BOOK/NON-FICTION. Sea Grass (Quarto), 2018. $18. 9781633224988
BUYING ADVISORY: EL - ADVISABLE
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
In 1958 Clara Luper, as an adult leader of an NAACP youth group, sat with her students, ages 6-17, as they held a sit-in at a segregated lunch counter in a Oklahoma City drugstore – possibly the first in the country.
Clara’s history leading up to the sit-in and her life after is a great read. Rhuday-Perkovich does a good job of distilling the lessons of Luper’s life and showing the quiet power of non-violent demonstration. We need more and more books reminding people of all ages and races to not “sit there on your constitutional rights”.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
https://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com/20...
BUYING ADVISORY: EL - ADVISABLE
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
In 1958 Clara Luper, as an adult leader of an NAACP youth group, sat with her students, ages 6-17, as they held a sit-in at a segregated lunch counter in a Oklahoma City drugstore – possibly the first in the country.
Clara’s history leading up to the sit-in and her life after is a great read. Rhuday-Perkovich does a good job of distilling the lessons of Luper’s life and showing the quiet power of non-violent demonstration. We need more and more books reminding people of all ages and races to not “sit there on your constitutional rights”.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
https://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com/20...
May 29, 2019
Before the sit-ins at Greensboro lunch counters, a group of protesters in Oklahoma City succeeded in desegregating lunch counters at a local chain of restaurants. They moved on to other local businesses with similar success. They were not professional organizers. They were schoolchildren, led by a teacher, Clara Luper.
In addition to telling the story of the sit ins and the many other strides towards equality Luper achieved, the book provides an overview of the process of nonviolent resistance.
Excellent and accessible to elementary students.
In addition to telling the story of the sit ins and the many other strides towards equality Luper achieved, the book provides an overview of the process of nonviolent resistance.
Excellent and accessible to elementary students.
December 29, 2018
Perfect for early elementary age kids in encouraging them to do what is right and stand up for what is right, even at great cost.
One of my favorite parts is on page 16, the halfway/turning point of the book, which shares the four steps of nonviolence:
investigation
negotiation,
education,
and demonstration.
(More about these steps are in the end notes, page 33)
One of my favorite parts is on page 16, the halfway/turning point of the book, which shares the four steps of nonviolence:
investigation
negotiation,
education,
and demonstration.
(More about these steps are in the end notes, page 33)
June 27, 2019
#bookaday summer reading challenge #13. Did you know, in 1958, Clara Luper led a group of children to protest and successfully integrate the lunch counter at Katz drugstore? (That’s a year & a half before the Greensboro lunch counter sit-ins.) Would make a great read-aloud. Great endnotes, too. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
January 4, 2019
3.5 stars -- Exciting, emotional, and thought-provoking story shows how civil disobedience can win rights and build bridges. Readers will be introduced to a civil rights figure they may not be familiar with.
March 6, 2019
A bit stilted - both text and illustrations but well worth reading to find out more in the continuing new biographies of little known fighters in the Civil Rights Movement. This one is about Clara Luper who taught and brought her kids to sit-ins.
April 26, 2019
A remarkable story about an amazing woman and how she used education to inspire and lead her students to action. What they were able to accomplish was unbelievable! What a powerful book about the strength of individuals and the ability to promote positive change.
September 10, 2018
Yes! Someday is NOW! An inspirational read. Pair with The Youngest Marcher.
September 23, 2018
How nonviolent actions can lead to great change.
October 24, 2018
Nonviolent activism leads to change in this story of unsung Civil Rights hero, Clara Luper.
August 29, 2020
About Jim Crow/Segregation and about how non-violence helped make the future "someday" (when things would be righted) become now.
November 7, 2018
What a fantastic read about civil disobedience and how powerful coming together and taking action can be.
November 7, 2018
Wonderful story. Especially for children to know.
February 22, 2019
This was an enjoyable historical picture book. We need to instill in our children today that they to can make changes in this world.
March 17, 2019
Such a simple book for such a heavy topic. Great for young readers about how they too can make a difference in society. And such a good history of such a terrible time.
April 6, 2019
What an inspiring woman! I should have learned about her in Oklahoma history. It’s a shame that I didn’t.
August 31, 2019
Add Clara Luper to the list of strong and brave women who stood up for equal rights.
May 24, 2021
Someday Is Now: Clara Luper and the 1958 Oklahoma City Sit-ins is a children's picture book written by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich and illustrated by Jade Johnson. It centers on a teacher, who helps her students protest U.S. segregation with sit-ins.
Clara Shepard Luper was a civic leader, retired schoolteacher, and a pioneering leader in the American Civil Rights Movement. She is best known for her leadership role in the 1958 Oklahoma City sit-in movement, as she, her young son and daughter, and numerous young members of the NAACP Youth Council successfully conducted carefully planned nonviolent sit-in protests of downtown drugstore lunch-counters, which overturned their policies of segregation.
Rhuday-Perkovich's text is rather simplistic, straightforward, and informative. Rhuday-Perkovich offers a sensitive story based on African-American educator and activist Clara Luper, who, in 1958, organized students to take part in a lunch counter sit-in in Oklahoma City. Backmatter includes an author's note and glossary. Johnson's stylized work features blocky figures against a palette of orange, yellow, and chartreuse.
The premise of the book is rather straightforward. The book conveys Luper's early awakening to racial inequity: as a child, her father assured her that someday she would be permitted to go to the places designated as whites only. Luper channeled her energies into teaching black children about history and the power of nonviolent demonstration, and she joined them in demanding to be served at Katz Drug Store.
All in all, Someday Is Now: Clara Luper and the 1958 Oklahoma City Sit-ins highlights an important civil rights activist and can serve as an introduction to child activism as well as the movement itself.
Clara Shepard Luper was a civic leader, retired schoolteacher, and a pioneering leader in the American Civil Rights Movement. She is best known for her leadership role in the 1958 Oklahoma City sit-in movement, as she, her young son and daughter, and numerous young members of the NAACP Youth Council successfully conducted carefully planned nonviolent sit-in protests of downtown drugstore lunch-counters, which overturned their policies of segregation.
Rhuday-Perkovich's text is rather simplistic, straightforward, and informative. Rhuday-Perkovich offers a sensitive story based on African-American educator and activist Clara Luper, who, in 1958, organized students to take part in a lunch counter sit-in in Oklahoma City. Backmatter includes an author's note and glossary. Johnson's stylized work features blocky figures against a palette of orange, yellow, and chartreuse.
The premise of the book is rather straightforward. The book conveys Luper's early awakening to racial inequity: as a child, her father assured her that someday she would be permitted to go to the places designated as whites only. Luper channeled her energies into teaching black children about history and the power of nonviolent demonstration, and she joined them in demanding to be served at Katz Drug Store.
All in all, Someday Is Now: Clara Luper and the 1958 Oklahoma City Sit-ins highlights an important civil rights activist and can serve as an introduction to child activism as well as the movement itself.
February 17, 2023
Someday Is Now is the engaging new picture book biography of Clara Luper, a too often forgotten civil rights hero who led her students in the 1958 Oklahoma City sit-ins. The story covers this part of history wonderfully, and it makes a great introduction to the life and work of Luper. The art is cute and adds a friendly feeling to the whole story that make it feel easy to connect with. I also really liked the note at the end that told us more about some of the things Luper did after those sit-ins. It's a great little introduction to someone that sadly not enough of us have been introduced to. Definitely recommended (and I enjoyed it as an adult, but I would recommend it for children 6+).
March 31, 2023
This is a lovely picture book history of Clara Luper. This is a bit longer and meant more for kids in school rather than bedtime reading. It is interesting and entertaining and a great way to learn of a figure in American history.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews