Quotes of the Day

“What I want people to recognize is equity doesn’t mean taking away from somebody to give to someone else. We have some groups that are not at the basic floor of opportunity, and so how do we get them there and maintain the level for others?”

-Marsha Herron, OKC Public Schools Executive Director for Equity and Innovation [The Oklahoman] 

“And so, when we’re talking about relaunching our economy and we’re talking about workforce and we’re talking about bouncing back, I think we need to be mindful that we are an ecosystem. And when you’re worried about keeping a roof over your head or food on the table, it’s very hard to be a productive worker.”

–Tulsa City Councilor Lori Decter Wright, speaking on a joint resolution with Oklahoma City and Norman asking Gov. Kevin Stitt for a moratorium on evictions through July 25. [Public Radio Tulsa]

“That is systemic racism, and until we address those facts, all the singing Kumbaya and holding hands and smiling at each other doesn’t mean anything at all.” 

– Camille Landry, an Oklahoma City-based community activist, speaking about focusing on interpersonal relationships rather than disparities in education, police violence, achievement and health between blacks and whites, citing high rates of maternal mortality for black women. [NonDoc] 

“Without diverse and community-centered perspectives, we forge narrow conversations that don’t get us to the heart of what systemic and institutional racism looks like and what truly should be done to dismantle it.”

-Bailey Perkins, moderator for an upcoming Black Women Voices panel on race and social justice [The Journal Record]

“For years, the Black Caucus collectively has created bills related to law enforcement reform only to meet disregard and rejection from leadership… Beyond conversation, we need good legislation to be implemented.” 

-State Rep. Regina Goodwin, D-Tulsa [CNHI]

“If you were ever considering voting by mail rather than going to a polling place, this would be the election to do it.”

-Oklahoma County Election Board Secretary Doug Sanderson, speaking about long lines expected for in-person voting during the June 30 election due to COVID-19 precautions and a reduced number of poll volunteers [The Oklahoman] 

“Sometimes these questions feel like big city issues, and they’re not. You have Black communities everywhere. It’s important for even these small-time communities to try to at least address (these issues).”

-Uriah Davis, speaker at Wednesday’s protest in Stillwater [Stillwater News Press]

“Zero substantiated complaints? Wow, that is just comical. We have to come to the realization that we can’t keep sugar-coating what has been going on, since as long as do, we are just perpetuating the problem.”

-State Rep. Ajay Pittman, D-Oklahoma City, speaking about the status of racial profiling cases reported to the state for addressing. Pittman said she knows numerous people, including herself, who feel they were subjected to racial profiling. [Oklahoma Watch]

“It boggles the mind to understand why (the health department) would take a highly informative report and render it useless to local citizens throughout Oklahoma. Knowing COVID-19 by ZIP code and city allows citizens to be fully informed during this time of high anxiety. If we want to avoid a resurgence of this disease this summer and fall we should not retreat on transparency of COVID-19 case disclosures at the local level.”

-Oklahoma Press Association Executive Vice President Mark Thomas [Journal Record]

“Today if you look at these crowds you will find out that we love our community and we are going to stand and continue to demand justice and keep the pressure on until we see the change that needs to be here.”

-Sheri Dickerson with Black Lives Matter Oklahoma City about Sunday’s rally, which organizers described as a message to city leaders for systemic change to local policing practices. [The Frontier]