News — Oklahoma

Vernon African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church is located at 311 North Greenwood Avenue in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Vernon is the only remaining edifice from the worst race massacre in American history in 1921 and the only black-owned structure from the Historic Black Wall Street era. It is also the oldest continuously-operating church in Oklahoma.

Vernon AME started in a one-room house located at 549 North Detroit Street in 1905 when African Methodism first arrived in Tulsa, which was then part of Indian Territory. Reverend J. E. Roy was the first pastor, followed by Reverend R. A. Devers in 1906. By that point worshippers met at Gurley Hall at 114 North Greenwood Avenue. The congregation grew from 8 to 16 members soon after and they moved to Barksdale Hall on East Archer. The congregation began its first building project at Hartford and Archer streets during Rev. Devers one-year tenure. The building project resulted in the construction of a small frame house which was completed under Reverend G. H. Burton and renamed Burton Chapel by the 71-member congregation in 1907.

The present site of Vernon was purchased in 1908 for the sum of $290.00, with a down payment of $100.00 made by the trustees. Voting to change the church’s name from Burton Chapel to Vernon AME Church in honor of Registrar of the Treasury, W. T. Vernon, who was appointed by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906. Additional land was purchased and by 1914 the old church structure was torn down and a new brick basement for a new church was constructed. However, the Tulsa Race Massacre on June 1, 1921 left black-owned homes, schools, and businesses destroyed and the new Vernon brick basement in ruins.

Vernon AME rapidly rebuilt after the Massacre. Immediately after the destruction of Greenwood Avenue and Black Wall Street, the Vernon congregation began growing a building fund of $1,100.00 to rebuild the structure. During that time, its membership doubled from 200 congregants to 400 congregants.

The rapid rebirth of Vernon became an iconic monument to the devastated community and gave a sense of normalcy after the tragic event. The church opened its doors to Tulsa’s Booker T. Washington high school students while their facility was being rebuilt. Vernon also became the site of various community events.

The main church building was finally completed in 1928. By 1940, the membership had grown to over 800 and a neon welcome sign was erected as a beacon of hope. One of the most notable pastors of Vernon was Reverend Ben H. Hill, who had an extensive experience in church and educational work. Hill took a group of youth from the church to the famous March on Washington in 1963 and under his leadership the Church took on many other notable projects.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in August 2018, Vernon remains a visual reminder of the reconstruction process after the Tulsa Massacre, a landmark and symbol of persistence.

As one would expect, Oklahoma’s Republican governor Kevin Stitt was on the planning committee that is putting together the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the unforgettable Tulsa Race Massacre which occurred in 1921. But Stitt was kicked out of the committee this week for signing into law, a bill meant to prevent different aspects of Critical Race Theory.

Stitt’s earlier addition could be read as a respectful nod to authority as well as to bipartisan contribution considering that the Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission includes both Republicans and Democrats. Oklahoma, a deeply red state, last voted for a Democratic governor in 2002. Nonetheless, Stitt’s inclusion had been “purely ceremonial” according to the commission yet, his assent to the bill was thought to inimical to the spirit of the commemoration.

A statement on Friday said “[T]he 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commissioners met Tuesday and agreed through consensus to part ways with Governor Stitt.” No elected officials were involved in the decision, the statement also said.

Even though the commissioners were “disheartened”, they were thankful of Stitt’s contributions thus far.

While Connecticut and California have passed bills embracing certain aspects of Critical Race Theory to be taught in schools, other states such as Idaho are looking to ban CRT or aspects of it in schools. The division over where you can and cannot learn CRT over the next few years is bound to be very political.

Critical Race Theory

Critical Race Theory (CRT) is better understood as a lens with which to look at the world rather than a field of studies or a defined subject area. CRT assumes that American social and political life, or the social and political life of western society in general, are rooted in suppositions that also gave birth to racial consciousness.

By this, CRT proponents such as Kimberlé Crenshaw and Derrick Bell opine that western society is a necessarily white supremacist, in the sense that western society was structured out of the humanity of those who shared whiteness. The structures these people of whiteness built were meant to perpetuate their kind and defend their ways.

The massacre

Sometimes known as the Tulsa race riot, it was a two-day massacre that happened when a white mob attacked and destroyed the properties of the black inhabitants living in Greenwood, Tulsa which was at that time the most affluent African-American community in the United States. It was even known as the “Black Wall Street” as it was home to highly successful and profitable black-owned businesses.

The riot was spurred after a 19-year old black shoeshiner by the name of Dick Rowland was accused of raping a 17-year old white female elevator operator by the name of Sarah Page. It is thought this accusation was caused by Rowland slipping and falling on Page. The white woman initially refused to press charges.

Bu the incident was reported by a white-owned local newspaper calling for his lynching. Rowland was processed and taken to court on May 31, 1921, however, tensions between the white mob who went to the courthouse to lynch Rowland and the black residents who were also around to ensure his safety escalated into a 24-hour-long armed confrontation.

A high school sports announcer and former youth pastor who was heard using a racial slur on girls of a basketball team for taking the knee during the national anthem has denied he’s racist, blaming his utterances on his diabetes.

According to CBS, the incident occurred during an Oklahoma 6A State basketball match between Norman High School and Midwest City on Thursday. In the recording, Matt Rowan is heard launching into a racist tirade when the girls of the Norman High School basketball team take the knee when the national anthem is being played. Rowan was unaware his mic was on.

“They’re kneeling? F**k**g ni**ers,” Rowan is heard saying. “I hope Norman gets their ass kicked. F**k them. I hope they lose. Come on Midwest City. They’re gonna kneel like that? Hell no.” Norman went ahead to win the game.

Rowan released a statement on Friday apologizing for his comments and blamed his meltdown on a spike in his blood sugar level.

“During the Norman High School girls basketball game against Midwest City, I made inappropriate and racist comments believing that the microphone was off; however, let me state immediately that is no excuse such comments should have been uttered,” he said.

“I will state that I suffer Type 1 Diabetes and during the game my sugar was spiking. While not excusing my remarks it is not unusual when my sugar spikes that I become disoriented and often say things that are not appropriate as well as hurtful. I do not believe that I would have made such horrible statements absent my sugar spiking.”

A parent of one of the girls on the Norman basketball team told KWTV the incident took a toll on his daughter and Rowan’s comments were a reflection of the abuse people of color have to endure.

“It’s just a sign of the times, it’s more of the abuse and things we have to deal with as people of color. Instead of looking at what the real issues are a lot of this negativity is just based off of hate,” he said. “She’s not taking it very well. Me and my wife just try to tell her keep her head up, just pray and try to concentrate.”

Following the incident, Norman Public Schools released a statement announcing they had severed ties with Rowan and his company.

“We fully support our students’ right to freedom of expression and our immediate focus is to support these girls and their coaches and families, particularly our Black students and coaching staff,” NPS Superintendent Dr. Nick Migliorino said.

“It is tragic that the hard work and skill of this team is being overshadowed by the vile, malignant words of these individuals. We will do everything in our power to support and uplift our team and everyone affected by this incident.”

The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) also released a statement condemning Rowan’s comments and announced they had “immediately cut ties with the third-party production crew that was involved.”

“The thoughts expressed in no way represent our network, and we are outraged that they found their way into the production,” the statement said.

“The NFHS Network firmly condemns racism, hate and discrimination. We also deeply apologize to the students, their families, and the entire community for having such ignorant and hurtful comments expressed during the broadcast.”

The statement added: “As an organization dedicated to empowering students and young people through high school sports and athletic programs and making their achievements accessible to all in their communities and beyond, this incident is a direct violation of our mission as a company.”

Rowan’s production company, OSPN Live, has since been removed from the network’s website, CBS reported. Another company that reportedly sponsored Rowan’s company also announced they had “officially severed ties” with him in a tweet on Friday.

Whilst a handful of Oklahomans were probably sleeping in the early hours of Wednesday, Republican lawmakers in the state’s House passed a bill that would protect drivers who knock down protesters.

Per House Bill 1674, drivers in the state who hurt or kill protesters without malice while “fleeing from a riot” are immune from both civil and criminal prosecution, The Oklahoman reported. This bill reportedly adds to other Republican-backed legislations that are tailored at clamping down on protests in the state.

The legislation, which was reportedly approved after midnight, comes in the wake of the largely peaceful Black Lives Matter protests that erupted in the United States over the summer following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. During that period, there were a number of reports of people plowing their cars into crowds of protesters who had taken over the streets.

In the city of Tulsa, a man drove his pickup into a crowd of Black Lives Matter protesters who had gathered on a street, seriously injuring multiple people. The driver in question was not charged by the Tulsa County district attorney as the former claimed his vehicle was attacked, The Oklahoman reported.

The recent bill was, however, criticized by legislative Democrats who accused their Republican counterparts of unfairly targeting protesters instead of rather addressing their grievances in what has been a period of racial reckoning in the United States. Rep. John Waldron, D-Tulsa, also called out the Republican majority for deliberately passing the bill in the wee hours of the day to ward off public opinion.

Another lawmaker, Rep. Monroe Nichols, told the house the bill rather missed the bigger picture – that is introducing reform to address what the protests have been about, The Oklahoman reported. “Maybe the way to prevent something like this [the Tulsa incident] from ever happening again is to make reforms on the broader systemic issue,” Nichols said, adding that he’ll have a hard time having to tell his pre-teen son that the Oklahoma House “made it so that folks who may advocate for people who look like him can be run over with immunity.”

The approved legislation by the house will subsequently be tabled before the Senate – which is also Republican-majority. Besides the immunity to drivers, the bill also proposes misdemeanor charges for protesters who “unlawfully obstruct” vehicular traffic.