A no-brainer

Citizens push for African American Affairs Commission

Though Indian and Hispanic affairs commissions have existed for years in Tulsa, similar representation for black citizens has never materialized. In a town shaped by one of the country’s most violent racial catastrophes—and still divided along color lines—the discrepancy seems particularly odd. 

Vanessa Hall-Harper, a manager at the Tulsa Health Department who ran for Dist. 1 councilor last year, is leading the effort to form an African American Affairs Commission. She and several others met with Mayor Dewey Bartlett recently to discuss the proposition, which she said has been received with little enthusiasm by city officials. Citing lack of funding and the time and effort involved in establishing such a committee, Bartlett said in the meeting that he would rather combine all of the affairs commissions into a general Ethnic Affairs group than support one specifically for African Americans. 

Staffed by a board of community members, an African American Affairs Commission would represent the needs of black Tulsans to city departments and would essentially give Tulsa’s black community a red telephone to city hall. (For instance, the Greater Tulsa Hispanic Affairs Commission has successfully advocated for the use of bilingual interpreters and police officers.) Hall-Harper said that after the April shooting of Eric Harris by reserve deputy Robert Bates, many black Tulsans felt left in the dark by the Sheriff's Office, which communicated with north Tulsa church leaders instead of directly with citizens.

By improving communication about citizen concerns and cultural needs, Hall-Harper said an African American Affairs Commission would help avert disasters like last year’s demolition of the B.C. Franklin recreation center (named for a Greenwood lawyer who fought racist zoning efforts by city leaders after the 1921 massacre). The center offered necessary amenities to North Tulsa citizens but had fallen into disrepair. As predominantly white neighborhoods in Tulsa were being revitalized, the city demolished the building, despite protests from north Tulsa leaders and residents calling to restore it. Coinciding plans to replace its pool with an unwanted splash pad and poor communication about funds made the debacle even worse.

In June, Tulsa adopted a resolution to become a Compassionate Community (part of the International Campaign for Compassionate Communities) in what the mayor called an attempt to "promote peace and attract a diverse population.” Without a commission to advocate for black Tulsans, some see the initiative as a hollow gesture.

“If this Charter for Compassion is going to truly be compassionate, the creation of the African American Affairs Commission should be a no-brainer, and should be immediate,” Hall-Harper said. 

Another supporter of the proposal is Kristi Williams, an activist in the effort to change the name of Brady Street (Originally named for Tate Brady—a Tulsa businessman and Klansman who participated in the 1921 massacre—but renamed M.B. Brady in 2013 for a Civil War photographer with no ties to Tulsa). In a recent letter to the editor in the Tulsa World, Williams said the city's attempts at interracial reconciliation have been intellectually dishonest. She joined Hall-Harper in asking why an African American Affairs Commission doesn’t already exist here. 

"It boggles my mind that our good mayor can sit with these commissions and not question why is there not an African-American commission,” she wrote.

In letters to the mayor and city leaders, representatives of the Indian and Hispanic affairs commissions have also voiced support for a group specifically devoted to Tulsa’s black citizens.

“Tulsa is a diverse community, made up of many races, ethnicities, nationalities, and tribal nations,” wrote Robert Anquoe of the Greater Tulsa Area Indian Affairs Commission. “Without question, each diverse group within the Tulsa area should be recognized and heard. It is the right thing to do.”

At press time, Mayor Bartlett had not responded to the Voice’s inquiries about the proposed commission.

For more from Mitch, read his article on purposeful development.