The Road Between Us
How Oklahoma students are learning history, and each other, through Road to Remembrance
Written By Joe DuVall, OEA Communications Staff
On an early morning in Oklahoma, two buses pull onto the turnpike. One leaves Oklahoma City. The other leaves Tulsa. Inside, students settle in for a long day. Phones charge. Conversations drift. Some are still waking up. Others are curious, but most do not yet know exactly what to expect.
At some point along that stretch of highway, the buses pass each other. It is a small moment, easy to miss, but by the end of the day, those two groups of students will be connected in a way that goes far beyond a passing glance on the turnpike.
This is the Road to Remembrance program.
The program brings together high school students from Oklahoma City Public Schools and Tulsa Public Schools for a shared learning experience rooted in two defining moments in Oklahoma history. Students from Oklahoma City travel to Tulsa to visit Greenwood Rising. Students from Tulsa travel to Oklahoma City to visit the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum. Over the course of a single day, both groups experience both sites, then connect with each other to reflect on what they have seen and learned.
For many students, it is their first time encountering one or both of these histories in a meaningful, personal way.
Stephen Evans, Director of Education and Public Programming at the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum, came to this work after 16 years in the classroom as an OEA member. That background shapes how he thinks about the program, especially when it comes to what students do and do not know walking in.
“These are two events… very impactful, almost 75 years apart,” Evans said. “But if you grow up in Tulsa, you might only be vaguely aware of the Oklahoma City bombing. And same if you’re in Oklahoma City about the Tulsa Race Massacre.”
That gap in awareness is not a failure of students; it reflects how history is often experienced in isolation, tied to place, taught briefly, or reduced to a single lesson in a textbook. Road to Remembrance gives students the opportunity to step into these stories where they happened and to see them in conversation with each other.
By mid-morning, students are no longer thinking about the bus ride. They are moving through exhibits, reading names, listening to stories, and trying to process what they are taking in. The experiences at Greenwood Rising and the Oklahoma City National Memorial are distinct, shaped by different histories and different contexts, and the program does not attempt to blur those differences.
Instead, it allows students to encounter each story on its own terms and then begin making connections.
Dr. Raymond Doswell, Executive Director of Greenwood Rising and a historian focused on preserving and interpreting Black history in Oklahoma, sees that recognition taking shape as students move through both experiences.
“It’s fair to say… histories that are almost 100 years apart have a through line,” Doswell said. “And in this case, it’s hate.”
He emphasizes that this connection is not about simplifying history, but about helping students begin to understand it.
“It’s maybe an oversimplification… but it’s a good starting point for understanding discussion on our stories,” Doswell said.
As students continue through both sites, they begin to see not only what happened, but how people responded in the aftermath.
“It’s not just about the tragedy,” Evans said. “It’s very much about what came next… the compassion, the empathy, the resilience that came out of that.”
Those responses take different forms in Tulsa and Oklahoma City, shaped by different timelines and circumstances. Still, students encounter stories of rebuilding, remembrance, and the choices communities make in the wake of violence, inspiring the aspirational moniker: “The Oklahoma Way.”
By the time students connect with each other, often over a midday or end-of-day discussion, they are carrying a lot with them. The conversations are not always easy, and they are not always immediate. Some students are ready to talk, but others may need more time; when those moments do come, they can be powerful.
Dr. Doswell recalled one interaction that captured that shift. A student, reflecting on what she had just experienced, stood up and spoke honestly about what she was feeling.
“I am tired, I am angry, and I am annoyed… We just learned in these museums about people running for their lives, and I have the nerve to get mad at my parents for not buying me a cell phone.”
The response from both groups was immediate. Applause, not because the statement was polished, but because it was real. It showed a student placing her own life in the context of what she had just learned and beginning to understand the scale and perspective of those experiences.
For educators, those moments are often the clearest indication that learning is taking hold. It may not always look like a perfect answer, but it shows students making meaning.
“You might not get the words that you want in the feedback,” Evans said. “But then you’ll hear these stories weeks later of conversations happening in that classroom.”
Students return to these experiences in discussions, in assignments, and in conversations outside of school. Some bring those stories home, sharing what they learned with family members who may be encountering these histories for the first time themselves. The impact extends beyond a single day, shaping how students think about their communities and their place within them.
Dr. Doswell sees those conversations as essential, especially as students wrestle with difficult questions.
“You’ve got to sit with tough feelings… trying to understand the whys,” he said.
For educators, especially those early in their careers, guiding students through difficult history can feel challenging. There is a balance between being honest about the past and supporting students as they process it. Programs like Road to Remembrance help provide a framework for doing that work.
“These museums are safe places,” Evans said. “It really immerses you into the story but also gives you a framework and a better way to turn those human emotions into teachable moments.”
The experience gives educators both content knowledge and confidence. It reinforces that students are capable of engaging with complex history when they are given the opportunity and the support to do so thoughtfully.
That belief is central to the program and to the work of both institutions. It is also part of a broader conversation happening in education about how history is taught and what students are allowed to learn.
Dr. Doswell addressed the notion that students cannot handle tough lessons in our history.
“(Attacks on teaching history) are done under the guise of protecting children, and our kids are going to be fine. We just need to teach them the truth,” he said.
For educators, that message is clear. Teaching difficult history is not something to avoid. It is something to approach with care, accuracy, and purpose. It is part of preparing students to understand the world around them and to engage with it in meaningful ways.
The Road to Remembrance program currently operates through partnerships with Oklahoma City Public Schools and Tulsa Public Schools and primarily serves high school students. The logistics are complex, involving transportation, scheduling, and coordination between districts and institutions, but the structure offers a model for what this kind of learning can look like.
For schools outside those districts, opportunities still exist. Both Greenwood Rising and the Oklahoma City National Memorial offer student programming, educator resources, and in many cases free or grant-supported admission. Greenwood Rising also provides virtual experiences and curriculum materials that can be used in classrooms across the state, including in rural communities where travel may be more difficult.
“Regardless of whether they go through the program or not, we want to make it successful as possible for any classroom that wants to come,” Doswell said.
He also points educators toward existing supports, including curriculum partnerships and virtual experiences that can serve as an entry point for students who cannot make the trip.
Expanding access to experiences like this remains a goal, even as challenges such as transportation and funding continue to shape what is possible. Still, the vision is clear.
“Wouldn’t it be wonderful if every school district could have these same opportunities?” Evans said.
By the end of the day, the buses are heading home. The energy is quieter now. Students are tired, still thinking, still processing. They have spent the day moving through two histories that, while different in many ways, are deeply connected in others. They have seen the impact of hate, but they have also, as Mr. Rogers advised, looked for the helpers. They have seen how people respond to tragedy and hate, how communities rebuild, and how important stories are preserved.
Somewhere along that same stretch of turnpike, another group of students is making the same trip in the opposite direction.
They may not notice each other as they pass.
But they are connected and they now know that.
This article appears in the Spring 2026 Education Focus