Hi all. Well, it has been a busy time in the 74126 and surrounding zip
codes lately, to put it mildly; the last newsletter sent out was on April 4 a
few days before Good Friday and Easter Weekend, and it had my commentary on the
anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s death that day and the history of race
in north Tulsa including personal and family experiences from the days of the
Klan being supreme, the race massacre, and the way my father worked to break the
cycle of racism for his descendents and his commitment to staying and serving
with all for our area throughout the years as a model for me to pass on and that
guides our anti-racism and sustainability and reconciliation work here now.
Two days later we had the racially motivated shootings and deaths here; all
but one of the murders happened here in our two mile service area, both the
shooters and the victims lived in the McLain community area, and it surfaced,
again, the work that continues to call to us here to build relationships and to
work on the deeper systemic issues of mental health and poverty and class and
race and education and domestic abuse and disruption of family life that mark
the lives of our youngest of all races here. It was only a month before that we
had a good conversation on these issues at our community center around the
showing of the documentary on reparations featuring Cornel West, following up on
our discussion around the anniversary of the Freedom Riders; it is a part of
every tour and discussion we have with folks who come in to work with us. But we
know the cycle of racism, like other cycles of violence of the mind, body, and
soul, can be broken despite multi-generations and despite events.
Easter Morning we had our Sunrise Service at the new KitchenGardenPark and
Orchard at 6005 N. Johnstown Ave. that we have been working on for the past two
years; and as the sun was rising we were hearing about the arrests of the
shooters, and we were talking about how the vision of the park itself, and why
we had taken the abandoned block of houses and trash and buildings and turned it
into the park it is becoming, precisely because of its location as a bridge area
connecting not rich and poor, but connecting one impoverished area that has
predominantly (but not overwhelmingly) black residents with an impoverished area
that has predominantly (but not overwhelmingly) white and American Indian
residents. Easter morning and the news reminded us of the vision and the work
still to do on our mission of the park and the community center and all our
projects connecting neighbors. Our recent demographic research confirms what we
who live here know; we are rapidly becoming more multi-ethnic (the area of the
proposed Turley city boundaries is now down to 56 percent white and is projected
to decrease to 52 percent white in three years and so it will soon like much of
Oklahoma be a minority majority area, and that our area continues to lose
population and services across the ethnic lines; our wider service area
including far north city of Tulsa limits will also increase in multi-ethnic
diversity as whites and hispanics increase their percentages, even as that area
also continues to lose population and services.) At the same time what the
statistics do not show yet, is how breaking with stereotypes we are going to see
people remaining and relocating here for a simpler and more socially justice
oriented life.
You are invited to come and celebrate with us, to meet others, to share
your own community projects, as we pause and hold our Garden Party on Sat. May
12 from 10 am to noon with the speeches and ceremony at 11 am. at 6005 N.
Johnstown Ave. (best way is to go to Peoria and turn west at Cherokee School and
go up to the top of the hill overlooking downtown Tulsa in one direction, Turley
Hill in another, and Bird Creek bottomland in another; or go to the Turley
Residential Center on N. Cincinnati Ave. (soon to be MLK Ave. and go east on
61st St to Johnstown; you can park at the Methodist church and come across to
the park.) Tours of the park, community information resources, activities for
all ages. See the completion of phase one and catch the vision for the future.
I will be travelling to Boston to deliver the keynote address and a
workshop at the Ballou-Channing District Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist
Association to be held Sat. May 5 in Fairhaven, MA. The sermon address is
"ReShaping the World: church in likeness to a different God" and the workshop
will be on our community renewal efforts and how we have done what we have done
here with so few people, all unpaid. For some background there is a recent
article and update on our missional community approach to church published in
Small Talk periodical here at http://www.spiritoflifepublishing.com/smalltalk/smalltalkdec11.pdf
On Friday, May 18 I will be a part of a panel of residents and leaders in
our area on a panel at Rudisill Library as we work with the Tulsa City/County
Health Dept. and their opening of the new North Wellness Center here. It is
going to be a great summer of new projects popping up all over our area; it has
started already with the construction underway on the Shoppes of North Peoria;
with the soon to be opening Wellness Center and the Tisdale Specialty Clinic by
OU in the old Northland Shopping Center area. Beyond these major funded
projects, are all those efforts by groups and individuals and churches who are
living out the hope that in the abandoned places love persists.
Thanks, blessings, Ron
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