Thelma Parks, a pillar of civil rights and education in Oklahoma City, died this week. She was 96.
Born in Muskogee, Parks first taught in Oklahoma City at Dunbar Elementary School. She later became one of the first black teachers to work at Truman Elementary, the city's first integrated school.
She was elected to the Oklahoma City Public Schools board in 1987, where she served for 22 years.
Thelma Parks Elementary, 1501 NE 30, was named for her when it opened in 1997.
Officials with Oklahoma City Public Schools confirmed her death Wednesday morning but did not provide additional details.
“We have lost a soldier,” said Garland Pruitt, president of the NAACP Oklahoma City branch.
“She had no problem speaking out and we don’t have enough of those people left.”
Parks was a recipient of the Oklahoma City NAACP Life Time Achievement award and is a member of the National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame.
She graduated from Langston University with a degree in elementary education in 1945.
"I've always loved kids. Kids were first with me, and I did my very best," Parks told The Oklahoman in 2017. "My husband said one time to me, 'I think you like those kids better than you do me,' and I said, 'You might be right.'"
<figure><img src="//cdn2.newsok.biz/cache/r960-78226f2df10462b2fb16ce1a645d6954.jpg" alt="Photo - Thelma Parks returns the hug given her by a young student at Thelma Parks Elementary School in 2017. [Oklahoman archives]" title="Thelma Parks returns the hug given her by a young student at Thelma Parks Elementary School in 2017. [Oklahoman archives]"><figcaption>Thelma Parks returns the hug given her by a young student at Thelma Parks Elementary School in 2017. [Oklahoman archives]</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="//cdn2.newsok.biz/cache/r960-ee289399575f436997e57138e117a0fc.jpg" alt="Photo - Oklahoma City School Board member Thelma Parks has a difference of opinion with Board Chairman Cliff Hudson during the proceedings of the OKC School Board meeting. Photo by Paul Hellstern" title="Oklahoma City School Board member Thelma Parks has a difference of opinion with Board Chairman Cliff Hudson during the proceedings of the OKC School Board meeting. Photo by Paul Hellstern"><figcaption>Oklahoma City School Board member Thelma Parks has a difference of opinion with Board Chairman Cliff Hudson during the proceedings of the OKC School Board meeting. Photo by Paul Hellstern</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="//cdn2.newsok.biz/cache/r960-744e79b8c16eb85a7e4efb0331109ead.jpg" alt="Photo - Thelma Parks in front of school." title="Thelma Parks in front of school."><figcaption>Thelma Parks in front of school.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="//cdn2.newsok.biz/cache/r960-3930f98e0d561b7331a0d63f68e48aae.jpg" alt="Photo - OPENING: School Board member Thelma Parks discusses the history of the school with students in a mock courtroom at the new Douglass High School, the first new high school to open in OKC in more than 50 years, Wednesday, January 18, 2006. Staff photo by David McDaniel." title="OPENING: School Board member Thelma Parks discusses the history of the school with students in a mock courtroom at the new Douglass High School, the first new high school to open in OKC in more than 50 years, Wednesday, January 18, 2006. Staff photo by David McDaniel."><figcaption>OPENING: School Board member Thelma Parks discusses the history of the school with students in a mock courtroom at the new Douglass High School, the first new high school to open in OKC in more than 50 years, Wednesday, January 18, 2006. Staff photo by David McDaniel.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="//cdn2.newsok.biz/cache/r960-c6adf05174c321ac19c39a98539a2679.jpg" alt="Photo - OPEN: Thelma Parks, District 5 school board member, speaks Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2006 at the grand opening ceremony of Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School. By Beth Gollob, The Oklahoman. ORG XMIT: KOD" title="OPEN: Thelma Parks, District 5 school board member, speaks Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2006 at the grand opening ceremony of Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School. By Beth Gollob, The Oklahoman. ORG XMIT: KOD"><figcaption>OPEN: Thelma Parks, District 5 school board member, speaks Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2006 at the grand opening ceremony of Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School. By Beth Gollob, The Oklahoman. ORG XMIT: KOD</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="//cdn2.newsok.biz/cache/r960-b0e5df64fb3aff1f6bf6b83e6aaad1a8.jpg" alt="Photo - Thelma Parks is hugged by the current Oklahoma City Public Schools Superintendent Aurora Lora during the assembly. Thelma Parks Elementary School is celebrating its 20th anniversary by honoring Parks, a former teacher and school board member for whom the school is named, and honoring Thurman White Jr., a 2017 Foundation for Oklahoma City Public Schools Wall of Fame inductee who had Parks as a teacher. The event was held in the school's auditorium on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2017. Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman " title="Thelma Parks is hugged by the current Oklahoma City Public Schools Superintendent Aurora Lora during the assembly. Thelma Parks Elementary School is celebrating its 20th anniversary by honoring Parks, a former teacher and school board member for whom the school is named, and honoring Thurman White Jr., a 2017 Foundation for Oklahoma City Public Schools Wall of Fame inductee who had Parks as a teacher. The event was held in the school's auditorium on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2017. Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman "><figcaption>Thelma Parks is hugged by the current Oklahoma City Public Schools Superintendent Aurora Lora during the assembly. Thelma Parks Elementary School is celebrating its 20th anniversary by honoring Parks, a former teacher and school board member for whom the school is named, and honoring Thurman White Jr., a 2017 Foundation for Oklahoma City Public Schools Wall of Fame inductee who had Parks as a teacher. The event was held in the school's auditorium on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2017. Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="//cdn2.newsok.biz/cache/r960-05ea668fb32033c03423147ed6ce8167.jpg" alt="Photo - Thelma Parks smiles as she listens to various speeches extolling her skills and contributions to the quality of education in the public schools in Oklahoma City for several decades during an assembly where Parks was honored. The school that bears her name, Thelma Parks Elementary School, is celebrating its 20th anniversary with special guests that included Parks, a former teacher and school board member, and Thurman White Jr., a 2017 Foundation for Oklahoma City Public Schools Wall of Fame inductee who had Parks as a teacher. The event was held in the school's auditorium on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2017. Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman " title="Thelma Parks smiles as she listens to various speeches extolling her skills and contributions to the quality of education in the public schools in Oklahoma City for several decades during an assembly where Parks was honored. The school that bears her name, Thelma Parks Elementary School, is celebrating its 20th anniversary with special guests that included Parks, a former teacher and school board member, and Thurman White Jr., a 2017 Foundation for Oklahoma City Public Schools Wall of Fame inductee who had Parks as a teacher. The event was held in the school's auditorium on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2017. Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman "><figcaption>Thelma Parks smiles as she listens to various speeches extolling her skills and contributions to the quality of education in the public schools in Oklahoma City for several decades during an assembly where Parks was honored. The school that bears her name, Thelma Parks Elementary School, is celebrating its 20th anniversary with special guests that included Parks, a former teacher and school board member, and Thurman White Jr., a 2017 Foundation for Oklahoma City Public Schools Wall of Fame inductee who had Parks as a teacher. The event was held in the school's auditorium on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2017. Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="//cdn2.newsok.biz/cache/r960-e876355420cac331059cb69f713b2f8f.jpg" alt="Photo - Thelma Parks waves to a student leaving the auditorium at the end of the assembly where Parks was honored. The school that bears her name, Thelma Parks Elementary School, is celebrating its 20th anniversary with special guests that included Parks, a former teacher and school board member, and Thurman White Jr., a 2017 Foundation for Oklahoma City Public Schools Wall of Fame inductee who had Parks as a teacher. The event was held in the school's auditorium on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2017. Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman " title="Thelma Parks waves to a student leaving the auditorium at the end of the assembly where Parks was honored. The school that bears her name, Thelma Parks Elementary School, is celebrating its 20th anniversary with special guests that included Parks, a former teacher and school board member, and Thurman White Jr., a 2017 Foundation for Oklahoma City Public Schools Wall of Fame inductee who had Parks as a teacher. The event was held in the school's auditorium on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2017. Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman "><figcaption>Thelma Parks waves to a student leaving the auditorium at the end of the assembly where Parks was honored. The school that bears her name, Thelma Parks Elementary School, is celebrating its 20th anniversary with special guests that included Parks, a former teacher and school board member, and Thurman White Jr., a 2017 Foundation for Oklahoma City Public Schools Wall of Fame inductee who had Parks as a teacher. The event was held in the school's auditorium on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2017. Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="//cdn2.newsok.biz/cache/r960-92b504859d7c965fc11c11deaff84850.jpg" alt="Photo - Thelma Parks, right, joins in applauding for students and teachers during the assembly where Parks was honored. Seated beside Parks is Thurman White, Jr., and his wife, Eileen. The school that bears her name, Thelma Parks Elementary School, is celebrating its 20th anniversary with special guests that included Parks, a former teacher and school board member, and White Jr., a 2017 Foundation for Oklahoma City Public Schools Wall of Fame inductee who had Parks as a teacher. The event was held in the school's auditorium on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2017. Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman " title="Thelma Parks, right, joins in applauding for students and teachers during the assembly where Parks was honored. Seated beside Parks is Thurman White, Jr., and his wife, Eileen. The school that bears her name, Thelma Parks Elementary School, is celebrating its 20th anniversary with special guests that included Parks, a former teacher and school board member, and White Jr., a 2017 Foundation for Oklahoma City Public Schools Wall of Fame inductee who had Parks as a teacher. The event was held in the school's auditorium on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2017. Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman "><figcaption>Thelma Parks, right, joins in applauding for students and teachers during the assembly where Parks was honored. Seated beside Parks is Thurman White, Jr., and his wife, Eileen. The school that bears her name, Thelma Parks Elementary School, is celebrating its 20th anniversary with special guests that included Parks, a former teacher and school board member, and White Jr., a 2017 Foundation for Oklahoma City Public Schools Wall of Fame inductee who had Parks as a teacher. The event was held in the school's auditorium on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2017. Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman </figcaption></figure>
Ben Felder
Ben Felder is an investigative reporter for The Oklahoman. A native of Kansas City, Ben has lived in Oklahoma City since 2010 and covered politics, education and local government for the Oklahoma Gazette before joining The Oklahoman in 2016....
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