We did it.
Our college successfully navigated a spring semester, a walk-thru commencement and the start of summer sessions as the clouds of COVID-19 may be lifting.
I was happy to see the calendar reach June 1, 2021, and to reflect on our recent milestones.
Yet June 1, 2021, has far greater significance than reviewing the strides BC3 has taken during the pandemic.
This date marks the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa race massacre. The Oklahoma Historical Society writes that it believes those 18 hours constituted “the single worst incident of racial violence in American history.”
Some estimate the number of people killed to be as many as 300, and the number of homes and businesses destroyed to be at least 1,000.
A century later, this is cause for reflection.
It is through education, through “teachable moments” — a line sometimes used in our industry – that the clouds of racism may one day lift.
Our college’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council, launched in August, 2020, and college as a whole will continue to look for those “teachable moments.”
As we do, my thoughts, and my heart, remain with the descendants of those who lost their lives June 1, 1921. You will never be forgotten.
To learn more about the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, please visit the Tulsa Historical Society and Museum website: https://www.tulsahistory.org/exhibit/1921-tulsa-race-massacre/
