Focus: Black Oklahoma

On this episode, we take a deep dive into House Bill 1775, its authors, its opponents and its repercussions in classrooms across the state. We also speak with two Oklahoma City activists who met with a state legislator following the lawmaker's controversial remarks about the Black Lives Matter movement, and we visit Turley to better understand why it's a town, but it's also not, and we celebrate a...

On this episode, the first Black mayor of an Oklahoma town talks about his plans to do things differently for the Idabel community, a historic election is set to take place among tribes which will finally consider the inclusion of their fellow Black tribal members, we talk with descendants of civil rights pioneers of small town Oklahoma about the legacy of their families' work to push their commun...

On this episode, how the University of Tulsa is helping to alleviate legal complications around housing and unemployment for north Tulsa residents, why one Oklahoma state lawmaker believes returning to normal after the pandemic is an error, the untold stories of three Black sheroes who helped move the journey to freedom forward, a deep dive into the first novel published about the Tulsa Race Massa...

On this episode, what's happening, or maybe not happening, on Greenwood Avenue during the Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial events and Juneteenth celebrations, as the Greenwood Chamber of Commerce sends mixed messages. We also ask what it's like covering the state's overwhelming incarceration statistics, legislation and news as a Black reporter and we'll go from the Democratic Republic of Congo to re...

On this episode of Focus: Black Oklahoma, we follow up on the Oklahoma City Black Lives Matter protestors who were charged with domestic terrorism last June and examine the so-called Second Amendment Sanctuary Laws recently passed by state legislators in defense of civil liberties. We also explore the Cherokee Nation ruling regarding the status of Freedmen and investigate the recent trend of racis...

"The Streets Are My Home: Evictions, Homelessness, and COVID" is the third and final episode of our three-part series "Black Plague: COVID In North Tulsa." This episode focuses on the effects of COVID-19 in the north Tulsa community, specifically on evictions and unhoused people. The series was made in partnership with Solutions Journalism Network, Tulsa Artist Fellowship, and Tri-City Collective.

"A Heavy Blow: The Pandemic's Impact on Domestic Violence" is the second episode in our three-part series "Black Plague: COVID In North Tulsa." This episode examines the pandemic's effect on domestic violence and mental health as well as the organizations helping to address the new challenges brought on by COVID while keeping up with the problems already affecting people. The series was made in pa...

"Lost Childhood: The Visible and Invisible Weight of COVID on North Tulsa Youth" is the first in our three part series "Black Plague: COVID in North Tulsa." This episode focuses on how the pandemic has altered the lives of young people in north Tulsa. We look at food access, mental health, and free time, among other topics, and how young folks' experiences with these things have changed since COVI...

On this episode of Focus: Black Oklahoma, we explore why citizens in Black and Indigenous communities harbor a deep distrust for vaccines, and the history that validates their concerns. We report on the Ku Klux Klan's attempts to recruit new members in several small towns right after the Presidential election and sit down to find out what it takes to fight for life on death row and the creative al...

On this episode of Focus: Black Oklahoma, the alarming death rate Black women experience during childbirth, a rural teacher speaks out about potentially dangerous protocols in a northeastern school district and why it's unsafe, how Black nurses are going above and beyond to support their patients and their community during the COVID-19 pandemic, the unexpected lesson COVID-19 revealed at Muskogee'...

Focus: Black Oklahoma is a news and public affairs program covering topics relevant to the Black and other historically marginalized communities statewide. The show seeks to inform the public through stories and interviews, engage the community through lively discussion, and spotlight local artists and creators. For more information visit us at focusblackoklahoma.com .

Hosts Arielle Davis and Kolby Webster introduce this episode of Focus: Black Oklahoma, our second broadcast. This originally aired on KWGS in March of 2020. In our first story, we learn what Hunger Free Oklahoma is doing to keep children across the state fed amongst the many disruptions of the COVID 19 crisis. Executive Director Chris Bernard takes us through the connections from food insecurity t...

Hosts Arielle Davis and Kolby Webster introduce Focus: Black Oklahoma in this, our first broadcast originally aired on KWGS in February of 2020. Webster kicks of the show examining how gentrification, eminent domain, big strategic land buys and more are affecting Tulsa's downtown and adjacent neighborhoods with Becky Gligo, the housing policy director for the city of Tulsa mayor's office, touch on...