About

Philips Park Mural Legends ! Information and recognition ! Lewis Lattimer.

Inventor | Draftsman | Bridge between Edison & Bell

• Son of formerly enslaved parents, Latimer taught himself mechanical drafting and became indispensable to America’s greatest inventors.

• He drafted Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone patent, helping Bell beat competitors to the patent office.

• Improved the carbon filament that made electric light affordable and long-lasting—without Latimer, electricity may have remained a luxury.

• One of the only Black members of Edison’s elite engineering team, the “Edison Pioneers.”

Legacy: He didn’t just invent—he made the future accessible.

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Bill Pickett

Cowboy | Rodeo Innovator | Oklahoma Legend

• Born in Texas, raised and trained in Oklahoma—Pickett revolutionized rodeo.

• Invented bulldogging (steer wrestling) by biting the steer’s lip, inspired by observing cattle dogs.

• First Black cowboy inducted into the National Rodeo Hall of Fame (posthumously).

• Performed internationally, including for royalty, yet was often barred from competing against white cowboys in the U.S.

Legacy: Oklahoma muscle, African genius, global impact.

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Thelma Reece Parks

Educator | Community Builder | Quiet Architect

• A pillar of Black education and civic leadership in Oklahoma.

• Worked to ensure Black children had access to quality schooling during segregation and beyond.

• Helped build institutions when resources were denied and resistance was constant.

Legacy: Not all heroes march—some teach, organize, and endure.

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Amos T. Hall

Educator | Statesman | Builder of Minds

• A prominent Black educator and public servant in Oklahoma during the Jim Crow era.

• Advocated fiercely for Black education, political participation, and self-determination.

• Part of a generation that understood education as the most dangerous weapon against oppression.

Legacy: He sharpened minds so futures could cut through walls.

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Roscoe Dunjee

Journalist | Activist | Publisher of Truth

• Founder and editor of The Black Dispatch, Oklahoma’s most influential Black newspaper.

• A leading voice against lynching, segregation, and police violence.

• Mentor to generations of Black journalists and activists—including a young Ralph Ellison.

• Worked with the NAACP to expose racial terror nationwide.

Legacy: Ink as a weapon. Truth as resistance.

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Willa Johnson

Civil Rights Leader | NAACP President | Oklahoma City Vanguard

• First woman president of the Oklahoma City NAACP.

• Organized sit-ins and protests that directly challenged segregation in OKC.

• Led the Katz Drug Store sit-ins, predating many nationally known civil rights actions.

• Instrumental in dismantling Jim Crow practices in Oklahoma City.

Legacy: Before hashtags, there was courage.

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Alfre Woodard

Actor | Activist | Cultural Voice

• Emmy-winning, Oscar-nominated actress with over four decades of work.

• Known for portraying Black women with depth, dignity, and spiritual gravity.

• Co-founded Artists for a New South Africa, aiding the fight against apartheid.

• Uses her platform consistently for justice, not spectacle.

Legacy: Representation done right—art with responsibility.

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Ralph Ellison

Writer | Philosopher | Oklahoma-Born Giant

• Born in Oklahoma City, named after Ralph Waldo Emerson.

• Author of Invisible Man, one of the most important American novels of the 20th century.

• Explored Black identity beyond protest—through psychology, music, and myth.

• Once said Oklahoma gave him “a sense of possibility before the world tried to limit it.”

Legacy: He made invisibility visible—and complexity unavoidable.

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This mural is not decoration. It is a ledger of ancestors, innovators, and truth-tellers whose roots run through Oklahoma soil and whose impact reached the world.