WASHINGTON SCHOOL 1956 BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP BANQUET
and
WASHINGTON HERITAGE PROJECT FUNDRAISER
FEBRUARY 24, 2024

In 1956, Stillwater’s Washington Bears won Oklahoma’s Class C High School Basketball Championship in the state’s first desegregated competition. Stillwater Washington was the only African-American school to participate that year and they took the title!

basketball Team

On February 24, 2024, a banquet will be held so the City and region can properly recognize the amazing accomplishment. This special evening will provide an opportunity to not only honor the 1956 team, but also to hear from surviving players and others from the community who will share stories about the ground-breaking team and the school that produced it.

The celebration will also be an opportunity for the community to learn about the Washington School Heritage Project – in the early stages of conceptual development – and see renderings that share visions of the exterior and interior after restoration.

Washington School

The banquet will include dinner, a program, and fundraising activities for the Washington School Heritage Project with an immediate focus on stabilizing the building and making it weather-tight while preparing for the larger task of historic preservation.

Don’t be surprised to find “must have” items in the auction such as signed basketballs, signed team photographs, and maybe even some home-cooked meals.

Tickets are $75 per seat and include dinner. Tickets purchased as a block by a single individual or business will be seated together unless the number exceeds the capacity of one table. Tables will have 8-10 seats. We will make our best efforts to accommodate seating preferences.

Table sponsorships, which include eight seats with meals, are available for $2,500. Table sponsors will be recognized with a sign on that table if they wish to be recognized.

Click here to purchase tickets

If you have questions about tickets or sponsorships contact Michelle Charles at 405-742-8084 or Jim Beckstrom at 405-473-0746.

Juneteenth Community Celebration

June 15, 2024, 11:00 am - 1:00 pm

Southern Woods Park

All members of the community are invited to attend the Juneteenth Celebration in Stillwater. The event will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, June 15 at Southern Woods Park, located on Twelfth Street.

The Juneteenth Celebration has been organized through the collaborative efforts of Stillwater Community United, Mt. Zion Baptist Church, Visit Stillwater, the City of Stillwater, the Stillwater Police Department, the Stillwater Fire Department, and the Stillwater Public Library.

What is Juneteenth?

Juneteenth, short for "June Nineteenth," is the celebration of the day in 1865 when enslaved Americans in Galveston, Texas finally received word that they were free and officially recognized as citizens. Black Americans began commemorating Juneteenth with celebrations across the country. In 2021, the US government declared Juneteenth an official holiday. Learn more about the history at www.history.com/news/what-is-juneteenth.

Event Information:

Free food, entertainment, and activities will be available, along with prizes, crafts, bouncy houses, games, music, food trucks, and more.
Participants are encouraged to bring a chair or blanket.

MLK Sponsors

Sunday, January 14, 6 pm

Stillwater Community Center Community Celebration

Enjoy refreshments and conversation
Listen to a performance from the Mt. Zion Choir
View submissions from the MLK poster contest
Hear from Nate C. Todd, Assistant Vice President for Institutional Diversity at OSU