F. D. Moon: A Visionary Leader for Black Educational Justice and Hope in Oklahoma

• In Event: Life Histories of Principal and Teacher Activists: Developing Black High Schools in the United States

Abstract

One force in the educational activism of Oklahoma City was Frederick Douglass Moon (1896-1975), a visionary community and educational leader and long-time principal of varied segregated schools in Oklahoma City. In 1974, he became the first Black president of the Oklahoma City Board of Education. In this paper, we highlight Moon’s role in educational activism in the state. We focus on his support of Douglass High school, the oldest Black high school in Oklahoma, which has been serving Black students and communities in Oklahoma City since 1891. Using oral histories from Douglass alumni, and select archival documents, we foreground some of Moon’s accomplishments, legacy, and place in regional memory—a figure who embodied “community cultural wealth” (Yosso, 2005) terms.

Authors

• Autumn Brown, Oklahoma State University
  Presenting Author

• Lucy E. Bailey, Oklahoma State University
  Presenting Author