Note: Hate Trackers is publishing this information just as provided by Candace Liger. The allegations she makes are verbatim to what she brought to us. We've notified two of the ACLU board members mentioned in the material and are offering them the opportunity to refute Liger's version of events.
Our response to Liger requested further clarification on the threat she alleges, as well as a request that the second party come forward with a statement. We are publishing this piece as a community service to continue the dialogue recently opened in Oklahoma over the employment by the Tulsa County Clerk of a member of the Ku Klux Klan and the intense reactions it has provoked from many people.
Email to Hate Trackers
Saw your story about Mike Redman. I can absolutely verify his racism and bigotry
I
sent this video to the entire national ACLU staff after I was
terminated by the ACLU of Oklahoma and threatened by Mike Redman.
It's so deep. Another woman of color just left for the same reasons. The board is a joke and Redman is the ringleader.
The information provided with the video has not been edited.
This is the video I sent to the ACLU of Oklahoma staff and board members after my termination and in response to the ludicrous $5,000 severance package offered so I would not ever sue or speak regarding my experiences there. I did not accept the money. It has been one year this month.
Before departing, I remember Ryan Kiesel saying at a team meeting, “We need to remember to also speak about race from a scientific perspective,” as he dished out some handouts about race, brain, and human behavior. In addition to this being one of the whitest things for an organization to ever say when being actively challenged to address race in a real way, I sat at a table of my white co-workers who offered no pushback to the statement. As I sat feeling dehumanized and invisible, I watched the entire table nodding in agreeance and complicit in their silence. This was just another day on the job.
When the ACLU of Oklahoma literally erased the www.FreeTondalaoHall.com, thus also erasing the work of a black woman per typical whiteness, I realized they had no idea what racial justice actually meant---because they have no idea of the ways they perpetuate racism individually and institutionally.
In addition to other specific matters you will hear addressed in this video, I challenged their tactics for engaging communities of color to support the efforts of the Campaign for Smart Justice -- an effort that claims to address racial disparities and mass incarceration--- since their transactional model of community organizing did not resonate with me or the communities I serve. As I watched the progress of the Oklahoma campaign, I am even more aware of how disconnected they STILL are.
The level of anger and disgust I held when I left Oklahoma was heavily influenced by my time working at the ACLU. Although I could uplift some great work contributed by the ACLU, I could not turn my back on the very real ways white supremacy showed up in a place where everyone thinks that being white and not voting for Trump, means that surely they possess no habits of racism.
My self-care began to take a toxic death spiral during my employment. I found myself engaging in an overwhelming amount of emotional labor to articulate my experiences and calm the fuck down. I was tired often, depressed, isolated, and constantly feeling like there was no hope for any of us. Folks like Allie Shinn, who I considered a co-conspirator, held so much silence during this time that she became unrecognizable. Later, because apparently Ryan was too busy sitting at his desk, she was the one who delivered the message to me. Never heard from her since and I like to imagine her actually losing some sleep over the course of the events that occurred.
I required some hardcore healing. I needed to be around blackness, unapologetic and saturated blackness. I needed to be as far away from the ACLU of Oklahoma as possible for my mental, emotional, and spiritual health.
I want to affirm anyone who is working in the nonprofit/social justice sector as black, POC, GNC, trans, or any other identity that creates space between you and cis-hetero white men, that whatever you experience---IS REAL. YOU ARE NOT CRAZY. YOU ARE MAD FOR A REASON. YOU ARE UNCOMFORTABLE FOR A REASON. Sure, there are ways to address our triggers in a healthy, productive way--and there are also times when we have to step smooth away from the triggers with a healthy “fuck THIS.”
I received more money in unemployment than what was offered in the severance package. Even if I had not, my freedom and my voice was worth the “ hell no”.
Since that time, I have committed myself to the work in a different way. I realized I no longer wanted to be on the reactive end of activism, but rather now I center my work on restoration, healing, and care (specifically proactive). I’ve had the opportunity to speak with so many amazing POC organizers, movement makers, and revolutionaries who are constantly finding themselves expending so much emotional labor in an attempt to create access, understanding, visibility, empathy, and demand accountability. My work now centers supporting those individuals. So they may be resilient in the fight. Stronger. Healthier. And they also know, they are NEVER alone.
[Editor's note: Allie Shinn was recently hired by Freedom Oklahoma, which is an organization in Oklahoma City similar to Oklahomans for Equality in Tulsa. Shinn replaced the former director Troy Stevenson as his comments to the gay community and his working with Oklahoma County Republicans created major division leading up to OKC Pride and led to his firing.]
Related Stories
DeHooded: Tulsa County Court Clerk Employee, Husband Live Secret Lives in the Ku Klux Klan
Racial tensions explode in Tulsa as county court clerk protects Ku Klux Klan member, LGBTQ center gets vandalized by BLM activist
Tulsa LGBTQ center director Toby Jenkins upset racial controversy leaked out to public, hosts racist tropes and calls for violence against black woman
Tulsa County officials circle wagons around their Ku Klux Klan employee, infiltration of county govt by the Invisible Empire will continue
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
Rosa vs. Racism: 'White order' and a jerk named Mike Redman prevent People of Color from presenting concerns at OkEq board meeting
Help Hate Trackers continue exposing the alt-right and other serious groups and individuals, by making a donation to our website. We're here to keep you and your family safe and informed. Donate Here
Related Stories
DeHooded: Tulsa County Court Clerk Employee, Husband Live Secret Lives in the Ku Klux Klan
Racial tensions explode in Tulsa as county court clerk protects Ku Klux Klan member, LGBTQ center gets vandalized by BLM activist
Tulsa LGBTQ center director Toby Jenkins upset racial controversy leaked out to public, hosts racist tropes and calls for violence against black woman
Tulsa County officials circle wagons around their Ku Klux Klan employee, infiltration of county govt by the Invisible Empire will continue
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
Rosa vs. Racism: 'White order' and a jerk named Mike Redman prevent People of Color from presenting concerns at OkEq board meeting
Help Hate Trackers continue exposing the alt-right and other serious groups and individuals, by making a donation to our website. We're here to keep you and your family safe and informed. Donate Here