Four stories that were trending or generated discussion online or on KGOU’s social media platforms during the past week.
Every February, the nation stops to reflect on the Civil Rights Movement and African-American culture during Black History Month. 2016 also marks 70 years since a Langston University graduate walked into the office of University of Oklahoma president George Lynn Cross, hoping to attend law school and break down OU’s color barrier.
Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher wasn’t the first African-American to attend the school – that honor went to education doctoral candidate George McLaurin – but her Supreme Court challenge set legal precedent that eventually helped overturn the doctrine of “separate-but-equal.”
Reader Bobbie Conklin Gonzalez writes: "Luis & I were both there at OU when she came. I was assistant manager in the cafeteria where she had a table off in the corner to eat alone. Sad!"
After a three-year legal battle, a woman whose family saw its art collection plundered by the Third Reich during World War II and the University of Oklahoma reached a settlement over a disputed 1886 painting.
Oklahoma’s Weitzenhoffer family bought the Camille Pissaro work Shepherdess Bringing in Sheep in good faith from a New York gallery in the 1950s, and later donated it to the University of Oklahoma along with more than two dozen other French Impressionist works. The family of Léone Meyer filed a lawsuit in 2013 to recover the portrait, and a formal settlement was signed Monday.
Both sides publicly said they were happy with the resolution, which transfers 100 percent of the title to Meyer and allows the painting to be displayed publicly in both Oklahoma and France on a rotating basis.
Reader Ellen Smith Swanson writes: “About time! Not one of [University of Oklahoma president David Boren’s] finest moments!”
In a rural community in western Kansas, many young immigrants who came to this country without parents or guardians struggle for security. They work all night, go to school during the day, sleep little, and then they’re back at work the next day.
Harvest Public Media’s Esther Honig says many of these immigrants work in meatpacking communities like Liberal, Kansas or Guymon, Oklahoma. They’re designated “unaccompanied alien children” by the federal government and can remain in the country until their immigration status hearing.
As part of a sweeping proposal to overhaul Oklahoma’s criminal justice system, Gov. Mary Fallin issued an executive order this week to remove the question about felony convictions from state job applications.
State Rep. Pam Peterson, R-Tulsa, applauded the move, and said it would help reintegrate people into society. But the move doesn’t prevent hiring managers from asking about felony convictions during job interviews, or affect current background checks.
@OklaPEA @kgounews Even if they are not asked in the app, they still do background checks and you have to pass. So really nothing changed
— Emily Wright (@EmmyAnn1388) February 26, 2016
That’s a look at four stories that audiences appreciated on KGOU’s social media and online platforms this week. We’re always interested in your comments, feel free to write to us at news@kgou.org.
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