June 2023 Update
ID: "The road to 2SLGBTQ+ liberation through Oklahoma. June Monthly Update. www.freedomoklahoma.org/news" on a background image of painted rainbow stripes on the ground and accents on the image of lines and dots in various blues.
The Path to 2SLGBTQ+ Liberation Runs Through Oklahoma.
Sometimes it feels like Oklahoma is a warning. A siren, those of us on the ground cannot ignore, that doesn’t reach neighboring states or national media. Folks talk about harm happening in Florida or Texas, that we have already seen tested here. Oklahoma leaders tell us to leave. Folks in coastal havens tell us Oklahoma is a lost cause. But the truth is, there is no flyover state in the fight for 2SLGBTQ+ liberation. Until 2SLGBTQ+ people are safe in Oklahoma, safe everywhere, we’re not truly safe. Until 2SLGBTQ+ people are free in Oklahoma, free everywhere, we’re not truly free. And that’s why as we close another grueling legislative session, as we center Pride celebrations in the legacy of resistance and needed havens of joy and community, we celebrate not the corporations or the events, but you. Us. The 2SLGBTQ+ folks sounding the alarm in and beyond Oklahoma, fighting for space that is rightfully ours. Finding joy, even in difficult times. Reminding everyone and ourselves that there have always been and will always be 2SLGBTQ+ people in Oklahoma.
Photo from a 1975 Christopher Street Parade, courtesy of the Lesbian Herstory Archives. Photographer and subject unknown.
We know this Pride Month may feel especially heavy. We’re seeing so much of our community forced to leave, to split itself apart, to do what’s necessary just to survive. And, we remember that Pride has radical roots. And sometimes that requires radical joy. Radical action. Radical reconnection to our relatives who did the work before us. Radical connection to a movement, to our communities, to ourselves. Pride is a protest not for rights, but for liberation. A time to join together and use our collective ability to imagine something better, beyond the options typically assigned to us, and then work to make that so. Pride is a time to remember that every time we are fighting one another and not our oppressors, we’re upholding the status quo. Pride is a time to reimagine the future we’re building together, where we are all free. Where we all have the safety to thrive.
There have always been and will always be Two Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual people on this land. Before it was Oklahoma. And we’ll be here long into the future. This pride, think about what that future can look like together. When folks say, “there’s 2SLGBTQ+ folks in Oklahoma too,” let them think of us as the community fighting together. Building together.
Photo by Anna Fuhrmeister for Oklahomans for Equality at a May 2023 People’s Hearing at the Oklahoma Capitol co-hosted by Freedom Oklahoma and Human Rights Campaign.
Last year during Pride, we offered a challenge, a chance to ground ourselves in this collective work. And, at the start of another Pride month, we’ll share that again: We hope in and beyond this Pride month, you think about not just our community but our movement and our responsibility in collective liberation. Every time you find yourself asking what about me, we hope you pause and shift that framework to what about us? We hope that you find some joy and safety and grounding in these days ahead and that when asked what we’re fighting for, you find yourself answering trans and queer and Two Spirit liberation, not just gay rights.
We see you. We love you. Happy Pride.
- Freedom Oklahoma
Important Links and updates:
A Greenwood Quilt Memorial
A Greenwood Quilt Memorial
Through mid-June, at the North Pointe building at 205 E Pine in Tulsa, you can view a collection of community quilts crafted to honor the more than 18,000 quilts lost during the 1921 Greenwood Massacre, as well as the love, labor, and history of the Black Tulsans who made, carried, and found comfort in those quilts.
The collection includes the Greenwood Block (spelled out in letters GREEN in green and WOOD in brown) at the center of the quilt is assembled with strips from a memorial panel for Clinton Wilding Smith as part of the Names Project. Clinton Wilding Smith was a dancer and choreographer. He died of AIDS in 1994 at the age of 40. If you look closely, you can see occasional pieces of red thread, which quilter Kathleen Doherty chose purposefully for good luck. The block is quilted onto black fabric with red binding. Red, a color central to advocacy, awareness, and memorialization of those impacted by HIV AIDS, sized as a wall hanging, serving as a reminder of the ways our liberation is bound together.
As a part of the project, you can donate to Justice for Greenwood to support the ongoing fight for reparations and be entered to win one of the community quilts from the Oklahoma Quilt Memorial. Details can be found via QR codes by the quilts in person and on the website www.okquilt.org/quilts
The Greenwood block was constructed by Kathleen Doherty. It was quilted into a wall hanging by Katrina Ward. Photo by Katrina Ward, May 2023.
June Community Groups
Join us to discuss End of Legislative Session updates, upcoming Pride events, and what's happening in each other's communities. This is also a space for you to come and vent or seek support on anything you may be facing in your own life. Join when/as you are able, and we look forward to seeing you there!
Educators, Teachers, & School Staff: June 13th, 4-5:30pm
Parents, Guardians & Caregivers: June 14th, 4:30-6pm
Students & Youth: June 15th, 5-6pm
Geometric-style graphic with a polaroid picture of 3 people sitting on a stage while looking, smiling, and thumbs upping something unseen in the photo. Below it is "register: freedomoklahoma.org/events." The other text: virtual 2SLGBTQ+ Community Groups. Educators & School Staff: Tuesday, June 13th 4-5:30 pm Parents & Guardians: Wednesday, June 14th 4:30-6 pm Students & Youth: Thursday, June 15th 5-6 pm
#GiveOUTDay
While most folks focus on 2SLGBTQ+ community members during June, the work to provide a future where 2SLGBTQ+ Oklahomans can thrive is year-round. By supporting Freedom Oklahoma this Give Out Day, you help support programming like our Name and Gender Marker Correction Clinic, Youth Action Month, and our annual Leadership Summit. As we prepare for Give Out Day, let us know what is your favorite programming or resource our Freedom Oklahoma team provides!
Navy background with lighter blue plants. 6 sticky notes tacked, paperclipped, or taped, with text "Work supported by your donations:" "Name + Gender Marker Correction Clinic" "Youth Action Month" "On the ground rapid response to 2SLGBTQ+ Oklahomans" "Advocacy toolkit creation" "The people's hearing" "Virtual community spaces". In the top center is a Freedom Oklahoma logo, and in the bottom right is a Give Out Day logo.
Oklahoma Pride Events
Here are some Pride Month events we'll be tabling or hanging out at. We hope to see you there!
We highly encourage you to wear a mask, test if you have symptoms, and keep Covid precautions in mind. Let's make sure everyone can participate and share the joy this Pride Month--including our immunocompromised community members.
6/1 OKC Pride Fest Opening Ceremonies
6/4 Kendra Scott FOK Benefit Day
6/10 Western OK Pride
6/15 Pride at the OKC Zoo
6/23 - 25 OKC PrideFest
6/23 - 25 Tulsa Pride
Keep up with our social media for more events!
"Pride Month Events Calendar" with the events: 6/1 OKC Pride Fest Opening Ceremonies 6/4 Kendra Scott FOK Benefit Day 6/10 Western OK Pride 6/15 Pride at the OKC Zoo 6/23 - 25 OKC PrideFest 6/23 - 25 Tulsa Pride. The background is dark blue and there are abstract shapes along the edges of the image in orange, blue, and light blue. The FOK logo is at the bottom.
Wear your trans pride
Our friends at Soft Hand have pre-orders live through June 4 for the last round of shirts in celebration of trans Oklahomans, with proceeds benefiting Freedom Oklahoma, SISU, Oklahoma Trans Crowdfunding, and Cousins (an Indigenous 2SLGBTQ+ youth group). Shirts are printed in Oklahoma City by McKenzie & Co. Don’t miss your final chance to order one of these designs at https://softhand.bigcartel.com/
A photo of our Executive Director Nicole wearing the "Trans/form Trans/gress Trans/cend!" soft hand T-shirt with a plaid blazer and tan pants with a colorful mural in the background.