TULSA, Okla. — Educators, political leaders, and a descendant of Tulsa Race Massacre survivors, teamed up in North Tulsa to offer in-depth African American history classes once a month free of charge at Edurec, near 56th St. North and Peoria.
They said Black History Saturdays are in response to House Bill 1775, signed into law by Governor Kevin Stitt.
HB 1775 prohibits teachers from teaching various themes related to race and gender and has been called a ban on critical race theory.
Kristi Williams, a descendant of Tulsa Race Massacre survivors, said she’s been working on the idea for the past three years.
“With the recent law of House Bill 1775, it just really made me push to make this happen,” she said.
In a ribbon cutting ceremony, the group said HB 1775 removes essential parts of African American history from classroom curriculum.
“We need to have African American history in our schools. We want courageous teachers to continue to teach,” said Rep. Regina Goodwin, D-Tulsa
“There is no courage in hiding from the past. I think it is a travesty,” said Greg Robinson, Founder of Standpipe Hill Strategies.
“History is the gateway to truth, and it allows us to not repeat some of the ugly parts of our history,” said Tiffany Crutcher, Founder of the Terrance Crutcher Foundation.
Classes focus on all aspects of African American history, the good, the bad and the uncomfortable.
The community leaders behind the classes said they won’t be stopped from teaching their children who they are and where they come from.
“We are a proud people, and today is really about getting our community to understand, our young people to understand that they stand on the shoulders of giants and that their job is to be as resilient as the folks who paved the way for us to be here today,” Jabar Shumate, Vice President, Oklahoma City Urban League, said.
This work is also supported in part by National Geographic Society’s social justice education program called, ‘2892 Miles to Go: Geographic Walk for Justice.’
The free classes are held the first Saturday of every month from now until November.
Each class has 120 spots for anyone young or old. Breakfast and lunch are included with the classes.
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