slaves

Mary Grayson was born into slavery in Indian Territory. Her parents were owned by Mose Perryman (pictured left), and they lived in the Choska (pronounced Choe-skey) bottoms, a fertile floodplain across the Arkansas river from Haskell. She describes Creek Indian division during the Civil War, including a bit about Opothle Yahola:

This month, at various locations in the Tulsa City-County Library system, you'll find some great programs celebrating African-American history.  In the Tulsa and Oklahoma collection, you'll find several great resources on African-American history in our state.