OKPOLICY.ORG
We’re excited to announce the release of a new book from Oklahoma Policy Institute! Neglected Oklahoma: Voices from the Margins is a collection of nineteen essays written for the OK Policy Blog over four years by Oklahoma City writer and social justice advocate Camille Landry. Each tells the story of an individual or family struggling with the kinds of troubles that pile up for those on the margins of our society. The essays are newly annotated by OK Policy staff with facts and data that give context to the personal stories.
Join us for the OKC release party on Nov. 7th, 6:30pm, at Full Circle Bookstore (RSVP here), or the Tulsa release party on Nov. 29th, 6:30pm, at Bound for Glory Books (RSVP here). You will hear remarks from Camille Landry, enjoy snacks, mingle with OK Policy staff, and be able to purchase a signed copy. If you can’t make it to either event, you can also purchase a copy online here.
Camille describes the essays of Neglected Oklahoma like this:
“I thought that giving people a glimpse into the very real, very fundamental problems that poor and working- class people in this state deal with every day might be good for all concerned – for the people who make the laws, the people who develop and carry out the policies, and for the people who are on the receiving end of those decisions and policies. And so Neglected Oklahoma was born.
At first I was concerned that it would be hard to find people to write about, but once I started telling people what I was doing, the stories flooded in. From my own family members to neighbors to my kids’ friends and coworkers, it soon became clear that these stories are all around us. Ordinary Oklahomans pay a high price for policies that are based more on political expediency than compassion or good governance.
I’m not really the author, I’m just the teller of stories. Most of them tug at my heart and haunt my thoughts. These stories are about real people making their way as best they can. I try to describe their struggles as honestly and openly as I can. I try to open doors into worlds that our readers wouldn’t otherwise get to know.
I hope these stories do that for you.”
Save the date!
The 2018 State Budget Summit will be Thursday, January 25th at the Embassy Suites Downtown/Medical Center in Oklahoma City. The Budget Summit is our biggest event every year. This year’s Summit will feature panels of top state leaders and keynote speaker Vanessa Williamson, a Brookings Institute fellow and the author of Read My Lips: Why Americans are Proud to Pay Taxes. Early bird registration will open December 12th — watch your email and our website for more information.
