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NAACP member urges Chickasha to correct and expand recognition of Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher
Summary
A local NAACP member told the council the city should broaden recognition of Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher, request family notification, and relocate signage to the site the organization originally requested.
Dr. R. P. Ashanti Alexander told the Chickasha City Council she submitted a Jan. 22, 2024, letter from the Chickasha Tri-County branch of the NAACP asking the city to expand recognition of Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher and to place an Oklahoma historical marker at Lincoln School, where the council member said Fisher graduated in 1941.
Dr. Alexander said the NAACP’s earlier request to name the H. E. Bailey Turnpike bridge over the route entering Chickasha after Fisher was not handled in the manner the group requested. She said the state and city approved signage east of town on Highway 62, but that the NAACP had asked the city for the H. E. Bailey Turnpike bridge crossing near Chickasha and that the family had not been notified.
"What can correct this ... is provide written and electronic notification to the family of Doctor Fisher ... comply with our initial request that the H. E. Bailey Turnpike bridge crossing be named the Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher Memorial Bridge ... support the school's effort" Dr. Alexander said. She said the group wanted signage relocated to the bridge requested in the original letter and asked the council to do more than the partial recognition it has received so far.
Mayor Grayson confirmed that a sign exists on the state highway and acknowledged Dr. Alexander’s concerns. No formal council action on naming or marker placement occurred during the meeting; Dr. Alexander asked the council for follow-up, including family notification and support for the school’s work to place a historical marker.
