Black Women Voices hosts conversation on race
A group of local, black female leaders hosted a public discussion on race Wednesday evening after being left out of Gov. Kevin Stitt's all-male panel on race earlier this week.
It was the first in a series of conversations to be hosted by Black Women Voices, and the two- hour virtual forum focused on structural racism, challenges specifically facing black women and key points that were left out of Stitt's earlier panel, which included two black community leaders, a black sheriff's officer and a white police officer.
The women who participated in Wednesday's discussion included Ward 7 Oklahoma City City Councilwoman Nikki Nice and the Rev. T. Sheri Dickerson, director of Black Lives Matter Oklahoma.
The Facebook live stream received over 10,000 views within hours of being posted.
“The conversation that was had (with Stitt) focused a lot on interpersonal dynamics and building bridges and having conversations as a solution to racism,” said Bailey Perkins, panel moderator and vice chair of the Oklahoma Women's Coalition.
“But there are also a lot of social and health and economic disparities that exist that having those conversations won't dismantle.”
Panelists said not including the voices of black women in the conversation around racism and police brutality dismissed the integral role black women play in their communities.
“You cannot discount black women in any conversation on race,” Nice said. “We know those black men, I'm sure, referenced that they had to be taught and told how you (act around police), but we missed the fact or the account of black women saying how difficult it is to have that conversation with her black child.”
Dickerson said she ended up turning the prerecorded program off early.
There was a lack of “buy-in by black people,” Dickerson said, and that made the conversation unauthentic and ineffective toward systemic change.
Camille Landry, a local activist and owner of the Nappy Roots Bookstore in Oklahoma City, pointed to tangible inequalities the black community faces like income inequality and higher rates of incarceration and said those problems need to be the focus.
“Until we address those facts, all the singing ... and holding hands and smiling at each other doesn't mean anything at all,” Landry said.
Each panelist also described personal experiences of racism: Being eyed suspiciously when going to the grocery store, receiving judgment in the workplace for wearing natural hair and combating the "angry black woman" stereotype.
When asked what policy changes needed to be made moving forward, answers ranged from education reform and revamping of police departments to increasing the salary of elected officials so a more diverse pool can afford to serve.
For those who want to be allies, panelists said making sure black voices are represented is key, though that is just a first step.
“Hearing about our experience is a nice gesture, but what are you willing to do after you hear about our pain and our trauma?” Asked Skye Latimer, who runs Folded Owl. “It is not enough to simply not be racist. You have to actively seek to be anti- racist, and that was not mentioned in the earlier conversation.”