Centennial Commission shapes plan for plaza

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ The Oklahoma Centennial Commission plans to accept designs for a planned plaza near the state Capitol to commemorate black history in the state. <br/><br/>J. Blake Wade, executive

Sunday, June 26th 2005, 12:42 pm

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ The Oklahoma Centennial Commission plans to accept designs for a planned plaza near the state Capitol to commemorate black history in the state.

J. Blake Wade, executive director of the commission, says that if funding is secured, the plaza could be finished within two years. The state will observe its 100th birthday on November 16th, 2007.

Wade says the plaza would be only the second of its kind in the nation. South Carolina inaugurated its African-American History Plaza at the state Capitol in Columbia in 2001.

The project's estimated cost won't be known until a design is chosen. But civil rights activist Clara Luper says funding shouldn't be a problem.

The centennial commission wants to locate the plaza south of the Capitol in the Lincoln Boulevard median.