Josh Vishnaw, a spokesperson for the campaign, said the plan is to use Norman as a launching pad for extreme grassroots organizing in the state. Sanders won Oklahoma’s Democratic primary election by 10 points in 2016.
Days after neighbors recorded a viral video in which white Lawton police officers were captured beating and choking an unarmed black man, community leaders called for a meeting with the Mayor and Chief of police to demand a transparent investigation into the incident and to push for solutions to the lack of trust between local residents and LPD.
When Corey Atchison walked out of the Tulsa County Jail in late July, 28 years after being imprisoned for a crime eyewitness then and now said he didn’t commit, the local media emphasized his gratitude at being free and his noble pursuit of a job. Yet, virtually no attention was given to the white supremacist legal system that perpetuates wrongful convictions and mass incarceration disproportionately on African American communities.
Whether its negativity on social media, intergenerational trauma from racism, or the rise of white supremacists in the streets, loving yourself is the most powerful defense against these threats.
The passionate pleas for humanity were overshadowed by a crowd of 287g supporters who fashioned red, white and blue clothing as they argued against allowing undocumented immigrants to remain in Tulsa.
Oklahoma has surpassed Louisiana to become the incarceration capitol of the world earlier this year. Studies have shown that suspending students out of school leads to negative educational outcome and a higher likelihood of entering the criminal justice system.
OU Senior Hannah Grillot told the OU Daily that she was “deeply disturbed” by Shumate’s termination. She asked why is “the university turning a blind eye toward white men who prey on and endanger students” but swiftly fires a black employee for driving a car home.
