Ralph Ellison Branch of the Metro Library System

Jonathan Elmore
Jun 19
2 min read

Updated: Jul 10

OKLAHOMA CITY

I try really hard to keep up with everything going on in Oklahoma and OKC. There's so much that I miss a lot, but I do what I can. A few days ago, I was told that the Ralph Ellison Branch of the OKC Library had a Juneteenth display up. Since I'm always down for an exhibit, I drove over to MLK and 23rd to see it.

Since most libraries have a small display area, I had that in mind when I walked in. And, like I imagined, the display wasn't huge. But boy was it packed with information, photos, and props. And I would later see a wall of photos, documents, and historical references that succinctly educated me on things I only thought I knew about like Emancipation and the history of Juneteenth. The person in charge of creating this display was Phil Tolbert. I'm very appreciative of Phil for putting it together.

I realize I'm a middle-aged white dude and I may not have been the demographic that this cool exhibit was intended for, but I loved it. As should everyone. I'll never stop believing that we're better together. All of us. To quote the guy whose name is on the street outside this library, "We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools." Right on, Dr. King.

This exhibit was temporary, but I got a few pictures. I also learned a lot about the namesake of this branch while I was there. Ralph Ellison was a prolific writer for most of the 20th century. His books and influence would ripple through the publishing world to pave the way for more and more black authors to be able to get their works to a larger audience.

Thanks to the OKC library system for encouraging displays like this in their branches. This one was definitely a good one.

2000 NE 23rd Street

Oklahoma City

405-424-1437