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| Tulsa activist Rosa Hernandez |
An almost all-white Oklahomans for Equality (OkEq) met Saturday, February 16th, to discuss board member Sharon Bishop-Baldwin and other image problems.
However, they weren't expecting Rosa Hernandez and her fellow activists to show up unannounced.
Videos were captured off of Facebook with BandCam
As seen in the video, to keep the People of Color under control and remove them from the room, the White Order started talking about their bylaws, as an excuse to silence the non-whites and get them out of the room.
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| I Don't Care Redman |
They even had a bull enforcer named Michael C. Redman that not only took "that tone" with the PofC, but actually told them he didn't care about their issue.
His tough guy act was rather comical.
I Don't Care Redman is a Tulsa employment attorney that has served on the OkEq board from 2006 - 2008 and from 2012 to the present.
His legal bio claims an affiliation with the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma, Member of the Board (2013 to present) and President of the Board (2016).
The ACLU website lists him as president now.
Apparently he didn't learn anything about how to treat People of Color at the ACLU either.
The fact is that particular board has had some trouble of late. A member named David McKenszie - another lawyer - went off on this reporter on December 17, 2018 by making threats over GUESS WHAT? The same damn KKK headquarters that Tulsa County Court Clerk employee Bonnie Kukla visits.
On Facebook I'd posted photos of the new building the Knight's Party was erecting in Arkansas. The Kuklas will be there in April for its grand opening.
McKenzie was kicked off the ACLU board that evening.
That's how Oklahoma rolls. Even the ACLU and equality organizations are led by haters.
- ACLU board member David McKenzie flakes out, threatens, and uses gay slurs over a story about the KKK.
- Oklahomans for Equality board member Sharon Bishop-Baldwin defends the KKK causing significant racial tensions.
- ACLU and Oklahomans for Equality board member Mike Redman treats People of Color like crap during a meeting about the KKK and systemic racism within their organization.
Good thing I'm not the conspiracy theory type or I'd be handing out a lot of white robes right now.
It's unknown if I Don't Care's actions were an attempt to impress his fellow white board members or if he's unaware that bossy white men can't push People of Color around anymore. But, if you think this person should not be president of the Oklahoma ACLU, due to how he treated People of Color, the state number is 405-524-8511. Their national number is 212-549-2500.
Sharon Baldin-Bishop had her own Facebook mea culpa. Well, sort of. Her "apology" led to her restating she was right, but she just said it to the wrong people at the wrong time.
Yikes!
After seeing that non-apology, Rosa Hernandez wasn't having it.
Other social media comments allege that Sharon Bishop-Baldwin has had a long, deplorable history of race relations, while some have had issues with the center.
During an attempt to get on the OkEq board last year Rosa posted a bio saying "I am a DACA recipient and native Mexican immigrant. I have been a Tulsa resident since immigrating to the United States at the age of 4. I work closely with the undocumented community here in Tulsa. There is a need for a more diverse representation of the LGBTQ+ community especially in leadership positions. I am the president of Dream Act Oklahoma - Tulsa, a program which housed at the Dennis R. Neill Equality Center.".
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After falling flat on their faces dealing with real live in-person People of Color, the OkEq board released this statement on their Facebook page:
We the board of Oklahomans for Equality have been meeting regarding recent issues in the organization. We acknowledge Oklahomans for Equality perpetuates systemic racism. Therefore, we commit to combatting it as an organizational priority.
Our first step will be to provide an opportunity to listen to the members of our community as we were rightly called to do. A town hall is being planned. We will release information regarding that as soon as possible. We thank those who have shared their time, emotion, and pain to help us see the need to make this a priority. We are sorry it has taken us this long to get to this point. We as a board are committed to taking an active role in dismantling racism. We look forward to your input at the town hall, particularly voices of LGBTQ+ people of color who have historically been silenced.
Earlier this afternoon Sharon Bishop-Baldwin shared with the board her decision to resign as a director of OKEQ for the good of the organization. The board has accepted her resignation and celebrates her years of service. She is a hero and a champion of marriage equality in the LGBTQ+ community across the state and country. We appreciate her foresight to put the best interests of the organization first.
We acknowledge it has taken an extended period of time to issue this statement. We wanted to be thoughtful and intentional in addressing these issues. We are deeply committed to having full board involvement in a discussion of this magnitude. We invite you to join us on this journey to better understanding.
Apparently, trying to get OkEq to see the light is turning out to be as difficult as ridding the Tulsa County Clerk's office of their Ku Klux Klan problem.
Oklahomans for Equality is located at 621 E 4th St, Tulsa, OK. Their phone number is 918-743-4297.
Meet the assorted terrorists, Klan members, Nazis, Aryans, and the wannabe school shooter the Kuklas are working with
Oklahomans for Equality admits to problems with systemic racism within their organization, board member Bishop-Baldwin resigns
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Oklahomans for Equality admits to problems with systemic racism within their organization, board member Bishop-Baldwin resigns