Above: Ayanna Najuma sits at the Katz Drug Store lunch counter in 1958. Inset: Ayanna today

Shutterstock.com (background); Johnny Melton/Oklahoma Historical Society/Getty Images (Katz Drug Store); Courtesy of Ayanna Najuma (Ayanna Najuma)

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She Fought For Change

More than 65 years ago, a group of kids helped end segregation in Oklahoma City restaurants.

January 6, 2025
By Blair Rainsford and Nicole Tocco

As You Read, Think About: What are some qualities kids need to help bring about change?

Courtesy of Ayanna Najuma

Ayanna Najuma

On a hot August day in 1958, Ayanna Najuma walked into the Katz Drug Store in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The 7-year-old and 12 other kids sat down at the lunch counter. They tried to order food, but the waitresses ignored them. The kids sat for hours. No one would serve the students for one reason. They were Black.  

The restaurant was one of many in the city that refused to serve Black people at the time. But Ayanna and the other kids weren’t there to eat. They wanted to end segregation. That’s the forced separation of people based on race. The kids, who ranged in age from 6 to 17, were holding a type of protest called a sit-in.

“We said to each other, ‘We want a change. Why wait? Let’s do it now,’” Ayanna recalls.

It was a hot August day in 1958. Ayanna Najuma walked into the Katz Drug Store in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The 7-year-old was with 12 other kids. They sat down at the lunch counter and tried to order food. But the waitresses ignored them. The kids sat for hours. No one would serve them. Why? Because they were Black. 

Many restaurants in the city refused to serve Black people at the time. Katz Drug Store was one of them. But Ayanna and the other kids weren’t there to eat. They wanted to end segregation. That’s the forced separation of people based on race. The kids ranged in age from 6 to 17. They were holding a type of protest called a sit-in.

“We said to each other, ‘We want a change. Why wait? Let’s do it now,’” Ayanna recalls.

Johnny Melton/Oklahoma Historical Society/Getty Images

Ayanna Najuma sits at the Katz Drug Store lunch counter in 1958. 

Troubled Times

Jim McMahon/Mapman®

When Ayanna was growing up, segregation was legal in many states, especially in the South. Black people weren’t allowed to attend the same schools, go to the same hospitals, or even use the same drinking fountains as White people. 

For kids like Ayanna, life with segregation was all they knew. But while on a bus trip to New York City in 1958, Ayanna noticed something. Cities in the North were much more integrated. Black people and White people ate at the same restaurants and stayed at the same hotels.

The kids wanted the same way of life in Oklahoma City. An activist named Clara Luper offered to help them organize a peaceful protest. Ayanna and her friends were about to join the civil rights movement—the long struggle to gain equal rights for Black Americans.

When Ayanna was growing up, segregation was legal in many states. That was especially true in the South. Black people weren’t allowed to attend the same schools as White people. They also couldn’t go to the same hospitals. They couldn’t even use the same drinking fountains. 

For kids like Ayanna, life with segregation was all they knew. But while on a bus trip to New York City in 1958, Ayanna noticed something. Cities in the North were much more integrated. Black people and White people ate at the same restaurants. They also stayed at the same hotels.

The kids wanted the same way of life in Oklahoma City. An activist named Clara Luper offered to help them. She organized a sit-in. Ayanna and her friends were about to join the civil rights movement. That was the long struggle to gain equal rights for Black Americans.

Kid Power

On the first day of the sit-in, the kids sat at the lunch counter until it closed for the night. No one took their order. When they returned the next day, the situation grew tense. Some White customers yelled at them. Others poured ketchup on them. Through it all, the kids remained peaceful and polite.

During the third day of the sit-in, the owners of the store agreed to start serving Black customers at the lunch counter.

“It was a big deal,” Ayanna recalls. “It was a slam dunk to be able to sit there and have a hamburger and Coke.”

Ayanna wasn’t done though. For six years, she and other young activists took part in more sit-ins at other restaurants in Oklahoma. One by one, many of the restaurants became integrated. 

The last sit-in took place in 1964. That same year, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act. It outlawed segregation in public places throughout the U.S. 

Decades later, Ayanna is proud of the part she played in bringing about change.

“Even though I was little, my voice was just as important as everyone else’s voice,” she says.

The first day of the sit-in arrived. The kids sat at the lunch counter until it closed for the night. No one took their order. The kids returned the next day. The situation grew tense. Some White customers yelled at them. Others poured ketchup on them. Through it all, the kids remained peaceful and polite.

During the third day of the sit-in, the kids got good news. The owners of the store agreed to start serving Black customers at the lunch counter.

“It was a big deal,” Ayanna recalls. “It was a slam dunk to be able to sit there and have a hamburger and Coke.”

Ayanna wasn’t done though. For six years, she and other young activists took part in more peaceful protests. They held sit-ins at other restaurants in Oklahoma. One by one, many of the restaurants became integrated.

The last sit-in took place in 1964. That same year, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act. It outlawed segregation in public places throughout the U.S.

Decades later, Ayanna is proud of the part she played in bringing about change.

“Even though I was little, my voice was just as important as everyone else’s voice,” she says.

Sitting Down to Take a Stand

The Granger Collection, New York

Another sit-in captured the nation’s attention in February 1960. Four Black college students staged a sit-in at the lunch counter at a Woolworth’s store in Greensboro, North Carolina. Within days, the protest grew to include more than 1,000 people. Reporters arrived from across the country. After nearly six months, the Woolworth’s store in Greensboro finally integrated its lunch counters. The Greensboro sit-in became one of the key events of the civil rights movement.

Another sit-in captured the nation’s attention in February 1960. Four Black college students staged a sit-in at the lunch counter at a Woolworth’s store in Greensboro, North Carolina. Within days, the protest grew to include more than 1,000 people. Reporters arrived from across the country. After nearly six months, the Woolworth’s store in Greensboro finally integrated its lunch counters. The Greensboro sit-in became one of the key events of the civil rights movement.

  1. What details from the article support the idea that life in the 1950s was different for Black people in the North than it was in the South?
  2. How did the second day of the sit-in at the Katz Drug Store differ from the first day?
  3. What is the purpose of the sidebar, “Sitting Down to Take a Stand”?
  1. What details from the article support the idea that life in the 1950s was different for Black people in the North than it was in the South?
  2. How did the second day of the sit-in at the Katz Drug Store differ from the first day?
  3. What is the purpose of the sidebar, “Sitting Down to Take a Stand”?
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