OMAHA HAS A NEW ADDITION TO THE 100 CLUB. SARAH ROUNTREE CELEBRATED A CENTURY OF CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVISM TODAY. NEWSWATCH SEVEN’S IZZY JUUL WAS AT SARAH’S BIRTHDAY PARTY AND SHARES HER STORY. TRAILBLAZER I CAN. HISTORY MAKER ALL WORDS TO DESCRIBE THE BIRTHDAY GIRL SARAH ROUNTREE. SHE’S THE LAST SURVIVING MEMBER OF THE COMMITTEE FOR CIVIL LIBERTIES IN OMAHA’S NEWEST 100 YEAR OLD. HELLO EVERYONE! I AM SO HAPPY AND GOD BLESS ALL OF YOU FOR COMING FOR MY BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION. SHE IS 100 YEARS YOUNG. AMEN. YES, SHE’S STILL GOT THE FIGHT IN HER. THE FIRST THING SHE SAID TO ME WAS WE’RE GOING TO START UP THE FOR SALE AGAIN. ROUNTREE WAS AT THE FOREFRONT OF THE 1960S CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT HERE IN OMAHA. THEY DIDN’T TALK ABOUT BLACK HISTORY BACK THEN. THEY DIDN’T DO ANY OF THAT. AND IT BECAUSE OF SEVERAL ROUNTREE THAT WE ARE NOW ABLE TO TALK ABOUT BLACK HISTORY. SHE WAS THE RIGHT HAND AT FORT SILL DOING EVERYTHING FROM FIGHTING SEGREGATION TO TEACHING THEIR KIDS. I’M SURE THAT THE DEPARTED CIVIL RIGHTS MEMBERS FOR HCL MEMBERS ARE LOOKING. THEIR SPIRIT IS HERE TODAY, AND THEY’RE SMILING AND THEY’RE HAPPY. SHE ALWAYS WAS READY TO FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT AND GET INTO GOOD TROUBLE. ROUNTREE AND HER WORK HAVE BEEN ETCHED INTO OMAHA’S HISTORY. A STREET IN HER NAME AND A PROCLAMATION FROM MAYOR JOHN EWING JR HIMSELF. MANY YEARS OF FAITHFUL SERVICE AND MEANINGFUL CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE OMAHA COMMUNITY, LEAVING AN INDELIBLE MARK OF KINDNESS ON ALL THOSE WHO HAVE HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF KNOWING HER. IN OMAHA, IZZY FONFARA JUUL KETV NEWSWATCH SEVEN. HAPPY BIRTHDAY SARAH! CAN YOU IMAGINE EVERYTHIN
Civil rights activist celebrates 100th birthday
Sarah Rountree is the last surviving member of the Committee for Civil Liberties.
Updated: 1:03 PM EST Jan 27, 2026
Civil rights advocate Sarah Rountree celebrated 100 years of activism Monday.Her friends describe her as a “trailblazer, icon history maker.”Rountree is the last surviving member of the Committee for Civil Liberties, a civil rights organization founded in the 1960s.”Hello everyone, I am so happy,” Rountree said at the start of her party. “God bless all of you for coming to my birthday celebration.””She is 100 years young, she’s still got the fight,” the Rev. Darryl Eure, son of another 4CL member, said. “You know, the first thing she said to me was, ‘We’re going to start up the 4CL again.”Rountree was at the forefront of the 1960s civil rights movement in Omaha.”They didn’t talk about Black history back then,” Eure said. “They didn’t do any of that, and it’s because of Sarah Rountree that we are now able to talk about Black history.”She was the right hand at 4CL, doing everything from fighting segregation to teaching kids.”I’m sure that the departed civil rights members, 4CL members, are looking. Their spirits are here today, and they’re smiling, and they’re happy,” Rountree said. “She always was ready to fight the good fight and get into good trouble,” Eure said.Rountree and her work have been etched into Omaha’s history. She has a street in her name and received a proclamation from city Mayor John Ewing Jr. at her party on Sunday.”Mrs. Rountree has dedicated many years of faithful service and meaningful contributions to the Omaha community, leaving an indelible mark of kindness on all those who have had the privilege of knowing her,” the proclamation reads.Family and friends said she is a firecracker who loves to dance to her favorite song, “She’s a Bad Mama Jama” by Carl Carlton.Rountree continued her activism well into her 90s, using her knowledge and reputation to raise awareness of the water crisis in Flint, Michigan. She will be the keynote speaker during Catholic Charities’ celebration of African American history at the end of February.
Civil rights advocate Sarah Rountree celebrated 100 years of activism Monday.
Her friends describe her as a “trailblazer, icon [and] history maker.”
Rountree is the last surviving member of the Committee for Civil Liberties, a civil rights organization founded in the 1960s.
“Hello everyone, I am so happy,” Rountree said at the start of her party. “God bless all of you for coming to my birthday celebration.”
“She is 100 years young, she’s still got the fight,” the Rev. Darryl Eure, son of another 4CL member, said. “You know, the first thing she said to me was, ‘We’re going to start up the 4CL again.”
Rountree was at the forefront of the 1960s civil rights movement in Omaha.
“They didn’t talk about Black history back then,” Eure said. “They didn’t do any of that, and it’s because of Sarah Rountree that we are now able to talk about Black history.”
She was the right hand at 4CL, doing everything from fighting segregation to teaching kids.
“I’m sure that the departed civil rights members, 4CL members, are looking. Their spirits are here today, and they’re smiling, and they’re happy,” Rountree said.
“She always was ready to fight the good fight and get into good trouble,” Eure said.
Rountree and her work have been etched into Omaha’s history. She has a street in her name and received a proclamation from city Mayor John Ewing Jr. at her party on Sunday.
“Mrs. Rountree has dedicated many years of faithful service and meaningful contributions to the Omaha community, leaving an indelible mark of kindness on all those who have had the privilege of knowing her,” the proclamation reads.
Family and friends said she is a firecracker who loves to dance to her favorite song, “She’s a Bad Mama Jama” by Carl Carlton.
Rountree continued her activism well into her 90s, using her knowledge and reputation to raise awareness of the water crisis in Flint, Michigan. She will be the keynote speaker during Catholic Charities’ celebration of African American history at the end of February.