Library legend Ruth Brown fought to integrate public library service in the town of Bartlesville, Oklahoma. She was relieved of her duties in 1950 on the baseless accusation that she was a communist when, in fact, she was fired because of her desegregation activities.
In her honor, the Oklahoma Library Association’s Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Intellectual Freedom Roundtable awards the Ruth Brown Memorial Award to encourage and recognize programming that addresses issues of social concern as they impact libraries, library collections, and the communities serviced by these libraries (along with a $500 award).
Molly Dettmann, Teacher Librarian at Norman North High School and SLIS Class of 2016, was the recipient of the 2025 award for her Oklahoma History Civil Rights/Black History Exploration and Monument project. She has taught Oklahoma History classes each semester since 2022. The lesson involves using primary resources and literature to explore Civil Rights and Black History in Oklahoma. The museum project engages students to do further research on an Oklahoma Civil Rights leader and designing a monument in their honor.
The full lesson and resources can be found on the OKSL Lesson Plan Library https://www.oklibs.org/page/OKSL_lessonplans
