June 2022 Update

ID: “June Monthly Update” www.freedomoklahoma.org/news and the FOK logo. The background is a picture from Pride with a light blue overlay with orange and blue lines and dots

We see you. We love you. You deserve safety and joy.

We could write the June newsletter you’ve read too many times before. This legislative session was hard. We saw some terrible bills become law. We stopped even more terrible things from moving, and now it’s pride month. But this legislative session is unlike anything we’ve seen in recent history. While many of us have seen an attempt to normalize the volume of legislation attacking bodily autonomy and threatening the safety of 2SLGBTQ+ Oklahomans, especially trans people, Two Spirit people, nonbinary people, gender diverse people, and women, this is not normal. In addition to policy fights at the state legislature, we’re seeing this harm introduced at the school board and public library board level. And we’re simultaneously seeing a politicized Supreme Court not only threaten to further limit access to abortion care but do so by decimating the foundation of much of the law that is the very precedent for 2SLGBTQ+ people to have our rights recognized and respected within the law. We are at a moment where so many people are trying to divide us as a community. When they want our reaction to be “what about me” instead of “what about us.”

So, this pride month, we’re grounding ourselves in the reminder that it has never been the courts or the legislature or governing boards that give us our rights. Rather, we’ve long worked within these systems to have our dignity respected for our collective safety. And for a long time, it felt like we were building in that direction. Only to watch so much of that building torn down by systems who see our community power as in competition with the status quo. And maybe that’s because we are. These systems have never served us. And they won’t serve us any longer. 2SLGBTQ+ Oklahomans deserve the safety to thrive, in conditions that aren’t dependent on an election year and are unchanged by trending copy and pasted policy proposals. And that means continued harm reduction at the legislature, growing our organizing and toolkit opportunities to engage in fights as they multiply on the ground across the state, and continuing our skill-building spaces, like our annual Leadership Summit, happening this year in August. And it’s also digging into our commitment to equity, which we’re rolling out in the months ahead in an equity statement and accountability steps. It’s digging in with community and reminding one another that all we’ve got is us.

This pride month, we want to honor that everyone might have very different needs. Maybe you need to lean fully into the joy. Maybe you need to revisit the roots of pride, and the radical actions that our relatives before us took in an effort to realize a future where all 2SLGBTQ+ people are celebrated and respected. Maybe you just need community. Maybe you have no idea what it is you need other than something very different from the frequency with which 2SLGBTQ+ people are being attacked. We hope to make space for that full spectrum of feelings this month and beyond.

We see you. We love you. You deserve safety and joy. You deserve the ability to imagine a future for yourself, for your family, for your community. In Oklahoma and anywhere else you want. Let’s work together, with all of the capacity you can give, to make that a reality.

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Freedom Oklahoma

Important Links:

Give OUT Day!

ID: A dark blue floral background with "Giving starts today!" The Give OUT Day heart replaces the "O" in "today." At the bottom is a June 2022 calendar with a rainbow Give OUT Day heart marking the first of the month.

2SLGBTQ+ Community Groups

2SLGBTQ+ Teacher, Caregiver, & Student Community Groups

Our June 2SLGBTQ+ Teacher, Parent/Guardian, and Student Virtual Community Groups are scheduled for June 7-9. Join the space for community as we reflect on the school year. We will be discussing inclusive sexual health, upcoming national and local summit opportunities, and how to stay connected through the summer break. We hope you’re able to join us.

Schedule:

Teachers: Tue (6/7), 4:00 - 6:00 pm

Caregivers: Wed (6/8), 4:00-6:00 pm

Students: Thurs (6/9), 5:00-6:00 pm

If you have barriers to accessing a virtual meeting please reach out to us so we can work with you to remove those obstacles.

ID: A collage of paper scraps and a photo from Pride at Scissortail Park along with our logo. Text: “2SLGBTQ+ Youth Organizing & GSA Support.” and “Freedom Oklahoma | 2SLGBTQ+ Community Groups | Teachers: Tuesday, 6/7 | Parents/Guardians: Wednesday, 6/8 | Students: Thursday, 6/9”

Work with us!

ID: “Work with us! The Empowerment Project” with random orange designs on a blue background and the Freedom Oklahoma and OU Health Sciences Center logos.

2022 Leadership Summit

ID: "2022 Leadership Summit August 26th" on a dark blue background with "save the date" repeated across the image. The bottom left has an image of youth outside at a rally wearing masks and holding pride flags and signs. The bottom right is our logo.