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Aware Tulsa (White folks in Tulsa, OK who believe that organizing against racism is vital to the health and prosperity of our community.)
Aware Tulsa Official Statement
Media Release——Aware Tulsa is calling attention to continued police violence in Tulsa, St. Louis, and nationwide, and the continued lack of cultural change within Tulsa Police Department. Aware Tulsa, the Terence Crutcher Family Foundation, and other concerned citizens are hosting Tulsa Protest Against Police Brutality on Sunday, October 22nd, at 3 p.m. outside of the Tulsa County Courthouse. All Tulsa City Councillors and Mayor Bynum have been invited to attend.
Those protesting the Stockley Acquittal have experienced repeated police misconduct at the hands of the St. Louis Police Department. Protestors are being pepper sprayed when already subdued, arrested in mass with little to no warning, and those detained have been denied access to attorneys. We stand with these protesters and condemn the denial of their rights.
These actions in St. Louis indicate a law enforcement culture that is incapable of community policing, contrary to their claims.
List of Demands:
We demand better from our own city, leaders in Tulsa, our police force, and Mayor.
We demand an end to the delays in community policing initiatives and implicit bias training.
We demand a law enforcement culture that respects the rights of all its citizens.
We demand rapid solutions, rather than slow avoidance.
We call for the immediate removal of Chief Chuck Jordan.
The work must be done now to prevent further violence by Tulsa’s Police Department!!!
The battle is and always has been a battle for the hearts and minds of White people in this country. The fight against racism is our issue. It’s not something that we’re called on to help People of Color with. We need to become involved with it as if our lives depended on it because really, in truth, they do.
— Anne Braden