Oklahoma Lawmaker Revises Opinion On Tulsa Race Massacre
An Oklahoma state representative is receiving backlash over comments she made regarding the Tulsa Race Massacre to The Frontier non-profit news outlet.
Republican Representative Sherrie Conley from Newcastle told The Frontier in an interview about Tulsa Race Massacre curriculum she didn’t think someone could know for sure whether racism was the motivator for the perpetrators of the massacre.
Friday, Conley walked that back in a statement, saying her comments were “in no way meant to downplay the horror of this event, nor to say that it did not have anything to do with race.”
She continues that she was “attempting to convey that I can never know another individual’s true intent because I cannot think their thoughts, nor was I alive during the time this happened.”
The Tulsa Race Massacre took place in the summer of 1921, decimating a thriving Black business district, burning neighborhoods to the ground and killing between 100-300 people.
None of the perpetrators of these atrocities were ever prosecuted.
Nearly Half Of Oklahoma's Rural Hospitals At Risk Of Closing
A national health policy group found that almost half of Oklahoma’s rural hospitals are at risk of shutting down.
The Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform finds 37 of Oklahoma’s 78 rural hospitals are at risk of closing.
The report shows that’s because of serious financial problems, including losses of inpatient services and low monetary savings.
It estimates these hospitals can only financially support themselves for the next six to seven years.
Rich Rasmussen is the president and CEO of the Oklahoma Hospital Association. He says the closure of a rural hospital comes with wide-ranging impacts.
“You have the risk of loss of jobs, the economic stimulation that the hospitals create, and the impact on patients would result in having to travel further for their care," said Rasmussen.
Thirty-one rural hospitals have closed nationwide since the start of 2020.
Gun Violence Prevention Program Focuses On Northeast OKC
A gun violence prevention program is getting started in Northeast Oklahoma City.
OKC artist and community leader Jabee Williams is leading the community-based initiative.
Live Free OKC is Oklahoma’s first community violence intervention program.
Williams experienced community violence intervention for the first time in 2001, after his brother was shot. He says the help started when his friend called a friend.
“Picked me up, took me away from the trauma, get something to eat, talk,” Williams said.
When Williams got back to the hospital, things had calmed. \
“And so when I think about this program and I think about what it's about, I always go back to that moment when I'm in the hospital,” Williams said.
LiveFreeOKC will identify individuals at high-risk of violence to intervene, interrupt and redirect.
That could look like offering mentorship or connecting people with resources.
Interim Study On Inclusion Of God In Founding Documents
An interim study to examine the role of God in founding documents has been approved.
The Oklahoma House of Representatives selected Republican Representatives Chris Banning and Kevin McDugle to examine God in founding documents like the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the Pledge of Allegiance.
In a news release, Banning said the inclusion of God in founding documents suggests a national “religious heritage” and that students should have a set-aside space for faith in schools.
This follows the approval of what would be the country’s first publicly funded religious charter school here in Oklahoma and a subsequent lawsuit from the Oklahoma Parent Legislative Action Committee.
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