Oklahoma has many historically black towns — and the Muskogee area is no exception.

Rentiesville, Taft, Boley and the Honey Springs Battlefield in Checotah are just some of the special locations the Langston University marching band will visit in its Black History Month event, “Tracing Our Roots: Oklahoma’s Historically Black Towns Tour.”

Several performances by the band and presentations by the Oklahoma Historical Society are included in the tour. All of the events are free.

The tour will kick off at 6 p.m. Saturday in Oklahoma City. It will continue in Rentiesville and the Honey Springs Battlefield on Feb. 16, then Taft and Boley on Feb. 17.

A video presentation by the historical society, followed by a performance by the Langston marching band, will begin at 7 p.m. Feb. 16 at Muskogee’s Roxy Theater.

The band and the historical society will also perform in Ardmore and Boley and visit Clearview and Tatums, said Langston’s band director, Larry Birden.

“It’s a good idea to bring a little pride to our students and give back to those towns that helped Langston University thrive back in the day,” Birden said. “It’s an educational as well as entertainment event. The OHS will be presenting the video documentary, and those who attend will receive information about the first African-American coloring book online for school kids which features some famous black Oklahomans.”

The band will perform rhythm and blues, one or two jazz pieces, some classical tunes and honor a Langston student from Muskogee by playing his (or her) music — but who that is will be a surprise, Birden said.

Muskogee is not actually a stop on the “Tracing Our Roots” tour, Birden said. However, he recognizes that Muskogee has a rich African-American history.

The Roxy Theater, where the band will perform Feb. 16, was once segregated and only for “whites.” And the Roxy Theater is not far from where the black community had a segregated, though thriving, business district for more than four decades.

“Even though Muskogee has played into Langston’s history, according to the Oklahoma Historical Society, it’s not considered a historical black town,” Birden said. “We want to visit and pay respects to those towns that were founded by blacks, for blacks after the Civil War.”

Birden said there was some talk last summer about finding a way to give back to the community.

“We ran across a map of the early black townships of Oklahoma and thought it would be a good idea to visit those places,” Birden said.

Many people who have been important to Langston University are from small towns such as Boley, the hometown of Ernest L. Holloway, the school’s past president, he said.

The tour is a collaborative effort between the Langston University Music Department and the Oklahoma Historical Society’s Black Heritage Committee.

Reach Wendy Burton at (918) 684-2926 or wburton@muskogeephoenix.com.

If you go



WHAT: “Tracing Our Roots: Oklahoma’s Historically Black Towns Tour,” with the Langston University marching band and the Oklahoma Historical Society.

WHEN: 6 p.m. Feb. 4, Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City; 7 p.m. Feb. 16, Roxy Theater, Muskogee; 7 p.m. Feb. 17, Boley High School Auditorium, Boley; 7 p.m. Feb. 18, Ardmore Convention Center, Ardmore.

COST: Free.

INFORMATION: Bruce Fisher, (405) 522-5049 or brucefisher@okhistory.org.