Racial Equity

If history was thoroughly taught with Black kids and their people’s story in mind, perhaps we wouldn’t have millions of Americans marching in the streets during a global pandemic because of the continued racial injustices we see against Black lives.

With a traditional second line brass band at their helm, the parents marched down Bourbon Street and shouted “Death to the Status Quo” of America’s broken and unequal education system into the ether.

In Tulsa, schools with a large African-American student-population are failing some 51-years after the U.S. Justice Department filed suit against Tulsa Public Schools (TPS) to force a plan for desegregation.

Last week I had the privilege of sitting down with a board member who voted in favor of keeping the name out of respect for the individuals who live in the Lee District. It was one of the best conversations I have ever had in my life. We approached one another as human beings. I sat at a table across from an American who looked different from me and allowed myself to become vulnerable with the hope of reaching the heart.

The white-supremacy institutions of Tulsa, Oklahoma are well-oiled machines, working against the progress of District One its Councilwoman, Vanessa Hall-Harper. 

What the Tulsa World Editorial Writers fail to understand is that the councilwoman’s constituents asked the councilor to push for the moratorium with the aim being an end to the proliferation of discount-dollar stores in north Tulsa.

It is important to remember the majority of the city’s African-American community and their allies considers the moratorium a victory.