James Lankford

Rep. Jason Lowe (left); Sen. Jim Inhofe (center); Sen. James Lankford (right) Reading Time 2 min…

Every single Oklahoma representative in Congress voted to give the president unchecked use of military force against Iran. Blood has been shed and will be on the hands of all the representatives that voted to allow it to happen. We must hold our legislators accountable before we are left without a vote, voice, or choice in our foreign policy and the monopoly of force that is the US military.

I am writing to you this day because I am concerned about the dangerous rhetoric coming from your political party’s leader — President Donald J. Trump. As the Tulsa Tribune article agitated the mob to commit the pillaging and massacre in my community in 1921, I fear that your party leader’s tweets may stoke further racial violence against non-white people in America.  

The Raleigh White congregation agreed three years ago to share its space with a predominantly black congregation, but conflicts arose. In March, when some of the black worshippers arrived at the church unexpectedly, a black female was told to use the restroom at a nearby convenience store, rather than the restroom in the church.

When African-American leaders from North Tulsa echo white supremacy, it hurts the entire black community as a whole. 

Echoing white supremacy can be defined as reinforcing racist stigma or perpetuating racial falsehoods for the purpose of personal gain or out of plain ignorance. Unfortunately, this ignorance or unrighteous act is harmful for the community and the race. And the predicable, unpredictable-unforeseen damages to come will have a long-lasting impact into the future on Tulsa’s African-American community and other historic African-American towns across the nation. 

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. symbolically ends at the Frisco Railroad tracks, where it was once nearly illegal for any black person to cross the tracks without permission or permits. Why didn’t the White city officials want to embrace Dr. King’s Dream by extending the street through to south Tulsa?