Updated Monday, April 17 at 1:16 p.m.
Protestors took to a McCurtain County Commission meeting Monday morning, echoing calls for local officials who made racist and threatening remarks during a previous public meeting to step down.
According to a Facebook livestream from McCurtain County Community News, the Mayor of Idabel, Craig Young, joined dozens of people in calling for the resignations of several officials caught on tape in a conversation where it was lamented that the hanging of Black people is no longer permitted.
Young said Monday that despite the discussion that was apparently secretly recorded at the commission’s March 6 meeting, McCurtain County should not be painted with a broad brush, and that protestors are only asking for a wrong to be righted.
“Listen, the story that you guys heard, it does not represent McCurtain County. We have good folks in McCurtain County. If we were so racist, it would not be such a diverse group here. We’re not racist here. Somebody made a mistake. We’re here to ask that they pay for they mistake,” said Young.
The solution would be for those involved in the conversation to cease representing McCurtain County, said Young.
“We’re asking them to resign,” said Young. “We are waiting on results.”
During the public comment portion of the brief meeting when remarks were limited to 30 seconds, a citizen, Lonnie Watson, who said he represented dozens of gathered protestors, named specific names of officials.
“We are asking for the resignations of the following people because of their actions taken, because of the audio, and because of their failure to lead, and because of the trust that it is involved in this community, and because they are not holding themselves or being held to a higher standard. We’re asking for the resignations of one Alicia Manning, one Kevin Clardy, one Mark Jennings, one Larry Hendrix, and one Robert Beck,” said Watson.
The local call for action follows on the heels of a statement from Gov. Kevin Stitt, who requested the resignations of Clardy, Jennings, Manning, and Hendrix.
ORIGINAL POST
Following allegations of racist, threatening, violent and disrespectful comments at a public meeting, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt has called for four McCurtain County officials to resign.
In a statement released Sunday, Stitt called for McCurtain County Sheriff Kevin Clardy, District 2 Commissioner Mark Jennings, sheriff's investigator Alicia Manning and Jail Administrator Larry Hendrix to immediately resign from their positions. He’s also called for the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation to determine any possible criminal activity in connection with the recordings.
Oklahoma Attorney General's spokesperson Leslie Berger confirmed on Monday that her office is investigating the situation.
Stitt’s call for their resignations comes after audio of a March 6 meeting was released by the local newspaper, The McCurtain Gazette-News. The audio appears to capture:
- Clardy and Hendrix making jokes about barbecue in reference to an arson victim
- Jennings conferring with Manning and Clardy about killing journalists. Jennings talks about digging holes and hiring hitmen in these conversations
- Jennings telling Clardy he’d run for sheriff if law enforcement were still allowed to be violent to Black people
In the last conversation, Jennings alleges the county sheriff in the 1980s would beat Black people and hang them by a creek. He then said Black people have now “got more rights than we got.”
In his statement, Stitt said he was “appalled and disheartened” to hear the comments.
“There is simply no place for such hateful rhetoric in the state of Oklahoma, especially by those that serve to represent the community through their respective office,” his statement reads. “I will not stand idly by while this takes place."
This report was produced by the Oklahoma Public Media Exchange, a collaboration of public media organizations. Help support collaborative journalism by donating at the link at the top of this webpage.
