tulsa
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Dr. Olivia Hooker, 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Survivor and One of the First Black Women to Join the U.S. Coast Guard, Dies at 103
According to The Spokesman-Review, Olivia Hooker—one of the last survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, as well as one of the first black women to join the U.S. Coast Guard—has died. She was 103. Dr. Hooker would go on to become one of the first black women to serve in the Coast Guard and…
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Betty Shelby Gets Bounced from Police Conference, Crutcher Family Calls It ‘Step in the Right Direction’
In what Tiffany Crutcher is calling a small “victory” for her family, a major homicide investigators conference has rescinded their invitation to have former Tulsa, Okla., Officer Betty Shelby speak at its event. Shelby, who shot and killed unarmed black motorist Terence Crutcher in 2016, was scheduled to talk about “Surviving the Aftermath of a…
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Tulsa Mayor Calls for Investigation Into Possible Mass Graves From 1921 Black Wall Street Massacre
Nearly 100 years ago, white rioters laid siege to the nation’s most affluent black neighborhood, colloquially known as “Black Wall Street,” in Tulsa, Okla., setting fire to homes, destroying businesses and killing hundreds of black people. The wounds of that incident still scar the town, particularly because so many unresolved questions—like where some 300 black…
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'What About Our Aftermath?': Tiffany Crutcher Remembers Her Brother, Terence, Two Years After His Death
It’s been two years since Terence Crutcher died, but once in a while, his sister Tiffany Crutcher will talk about him as though he’s still here. “Terence and I just celebrated our 42nd birthday, August 16th,” she says. Tiffany, who has a clinical doctorate in physical rehabilitation, is a health care provider. This particular Wednesday…
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Betty Shelby, the Oklahoma Cop Who Killed Terence Crutcher, to Teach Class on 'Surviving the Aftermath' of Police Shootings
This Is How White Privilege Works 101: Betty Shelby, the white Tulsa, Okla., police officer who shot an unarmed Terence Crutcher as he stood by his SUV in 2016, will be teaching a class about “surviving the aftermath” of an officer-involved shooting. As Tulsa World reports, Shelby, who was acquitted of first-degree manslaughter in 2017,…
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Michael Jackson Said It Best, Black People: ‘You Can’t Win’
Sometimes, when I’m feeling a special kind of cynical, I put on Michael Jackson’s “You Can’t Win” from The Wiz and wallow in its bluesy refrain. Being black in the U.S. of A., if you watch the news, or think too hard about the daunting odds of America living up to its promise of parity,…
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My Cousin Was Lynched. Here’s How It Changed My Life
I first learned of my cousin’s lynching when I was 10 years old. During the summer, I often spent time at my uncle Johnny’s house, but that summer, my great-grandmother, a wizened old black woman whose face spoke of years of enduring the weight of patriarchy and white supremacy, was often there, too. Well into…
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3rd Mistrial for White Okla. Cop Who Killed Daughter’s Black Boyfriend
Saturday marked the third mistrial in nine months for a former Tulsa, Okla., police officer who admittedly shot and killed his daughter’s black 19-year-old boyfriend. The Associated Press reports that the Tulsa prosecutor on the case expressed shock when District Judge Sharon Holmes again declared a mistrial in the case against Shannon Kepler (Holmes has overseen…
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Family of Terence Crutcher Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit, Seeks Police Reform
The family of Terence Crutcher is still seeking justice and filed a wrongful death lawsuit Thursday seeking damages and widespread reform of the Tulsa, Okla., Police Department. Crutcher was shot and killed in September by Tulsa Police Officer Betty Shelby, who was later acquitted of first-degree manslaughter in the case before returning to a cushy…
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Betty Shelby Returns to Cushy Desk Job With Tulsa, Okla. Police Department After Killing Unarmed Black Motorist Terence Crutcher
Tulsa, Okla., Police Officer Betty Shelby is back working a “desk job,” keeping the community safe, after killing an unarmed black motorist whose car had broken down on a highway late last year, the Associated Press reports. Shelby was acquitted of manslaughter earlier this month in the shooting death of Terence Crutcher. Shelby claimed that…