Press Release
May 19, 2023
Contact: Jake Krumwiede
Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center, Oklahoma Historical Society
Office: 580-237-1907
jacob.krumwiede@history.ok.gov
www.csrhc.org
Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center Opens New Exhibit Called “Fighting for the Right to Fight”
ENID, Okla. — The Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center is hosting a new special exhibit called “Fighting for the Right to Fight: African American Experiences in World War II.” The exhibit is on loan from the National WWII Museum in New Orleans. The special exhibit will be on display through August 5.
In the years leading up to World War II, racial segregation and discrimination were part of daily life for many in the United States. For most African Americans, even the most basic rights and services were fragmented or denied altogether. To be Black was to know the limits of freedom—excluded from the very opportunity, equality and justice on which the country was founded. Yet, once World War II began, thousands of African Americans rushed to enlist, intent on serving the nation that treated them as second-class citizens. They were determined to fight to preserve the freedom that they themselves had been denied. “Fighting for the Right to Fight” tells their story.
For more information about the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center, please call 580-237-1907 or visit www.csrhc.org.
The Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center is a division of the Oklahoma Historical Society. The mission of the Oklahoma Historical Society is to collect, preserve and share the history and culture of the state of Oklahoma and its people. Founded in 1893 by members of the Territorial Press Association, the OHS maintains museums, historic sites and affiliates across the state. Through its research archives, exhibits, educational programs and publications the OHS chronicles the rich history of Oklahoma. For more information about the OHS, please visit www.okhistory.org.
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Editor’s Note: Photos of the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center are available upon request.
