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The 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission has told Gov. Kevin Stitt it will consider him to have resigned as a member if he doesn’t respond to their invitation to discuss his signing of a bill Republicans have pushed as a ban on teaching critical race theory.
The commission urged Stitt to veto House Bill 1775, which prohibits teaching concepts like a student should feel guilty for historical events because of their race or sex. In a letter signed by Project Director Phil Armstrong, the commission said the new law will intimidate teachers who want to explore the underlying causes of the massacre and is diametrically opposed to their mission.
Press release content from Business Wire. The AP news staff was not involved in its creation.
Survivors and Descendants of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre and Greenwood Community Leaders to Hold Press Conference Today
May 11, 2021 GMT
Members of Tulsa’s Greenwood community, including 107-year-old Massacre survivor
Mother Viola Fletcher, will host a press conference today at
1:30 PM CST to discuss prominent Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission members’ support of racist House Bill 1775 and the way forward as the Centennial of the Massacre approaches.
On Friday, May 7, 2021, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt signed House Bill 1775 into law, which outlaws the teaching of the truth about racism and discrimination against non-white people. In addition to Governor Stitt, who serves as a Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commissioner, supporting House Bill 1775, the bill was also vocally supported by Tulsa Mayor and Commissioner G.T. Bynum. Bynum, who is also a strong opponent of rep