Alva Review-Courier -

Olivia Hooker was an African American who lived in Oklahoma in the days of segregation. She managed to survive prejudice and discrimination, and succeeded in living a life of significant accomplishments.

Hooker was born in Muskogee on Feb. 12, 1915. Shortly thereafter, the family moved to Tulsa where her mother was a housewife and her father operated a clothing store in the city’s vibrant black business district.

Then, on May 31, 1921, the Tulsa Race Riot began as white mobs roamed black neighborhoods, destroying property and killing people. Several rioters entered the Hooker home and ruined m...