$ Issue 64 UNPACKING THE 2020 POINT IN TIME COUNT | P. 10 Suggested 2 Donation For affordable and easy parking try PARKING OKC Garages are safe, well lit and have great access to the OKC Streetcar, EMBARK bus, and Spokies.
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Station and bike touch points including Picking up food from a restaurant downtown? touchscreens, handlebars, brakes, seats, and seat Look for FREE Food Pick-up only on-street adjustment lever are sanitized every other day. parking near the restaurant. LIMITED TIME ONLY For affordable and easy parking try A LETTER FROM THE EDITOR PARKING OKC JULY 2020 >> Nathan Poppe discusses the latest Point in Time Count, Black Garages are safe, well lit and have homelessness and lending a hand in 2020 4 Lauren Palmer shares advice on great access to the OKC Streetcar, having a conversation about racism
EMBARK bus, and Spokies. 6 George Lang explores the role of empathy during a pandemic
10 Explore 2020 Point in Time Count results and what they mean for OKC
16 A behind-the-scenes look at how the 2020 Point in Time Count came together
24 Examining historic barriers and systemic causes of Black homelessness
30 Spike Lee discusses his new film and discusses race and rage in America Sheridan/Walker 34 On the Move highlights Anita who 501 W. Sheridan ended her homelessness May Cruz conducts the Point in Time Count survey in downtown OKC on the morning of Jan. 23. [Photo by Nathan Poppe]
re there two Oklahoma Cities? I was sitting inside the Urban League of Greater Oklahoma City’s offices and Valerie Thomp- son brought up the idea as we ended an interview. “Your re- COVER CREDITS: OKC graphic designer EXPLORE THE CITY ality is not the same reality as everyone in OKC,” she said. Her William Muschinske handled layout and design. A Inspiration for the cover came from the idea that words have stuck with me for months. Why? Because I think numbers have a lot to say. They represent human she’s right. There’s the camera-ready version of OKC that’s beings that are fighting every single day to break YOU LOVE WITH ready for “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” and another reality where people the chain of homelessness. don’t know where their next meal is coming from. It’s complicated, and it takes work to recognize and wrestle with both. “I’m honored to help on an issue that gives SPOKIES! people representation and helps with community If there’s a silver lining to 2020, I hope it’s given you time to slow down, focus awareness,” William said. “We’re only as strong Arts District on what’s essential and take note of people who were impacted during the as our weakest link. It’s our future, and we must It’s easy and fun with bikeshare! 431 W. Main pandemic. Think of this as a chance to practice empathy and to understand build it together.” how tough times are likely going to put more people closer to poverty. We Simply checkout, unlock, ride, and return. have three stories in this issue focused on the annual Point in Time Count — think of it as a census for people experiencing homelessness in OKC. We share the count to not only get an estimate of how many people are living outside but also to document the massive outreach effort letting our neigh- bors know help exists. We took a close look at Black homelessness and how systemic issues are persisting and changing in our community. The PIT Count $ To Unlock continues to change how I look at my city. I hope it does the same for you. 1 THEN 12¢/MIN I imagine this issue might leave you with one question: How can I help? Well, you’ve already done an incredible thing by having a conversation with a Curb- side vendor and opening this magazine. It’s a small gesture, but it goes a long Director Ranya Forgotson way. Beyond that, consider following the Homeless Alliance online for dona- Nathan Poppe $ 3-Hr Rides tion campaign announcements when it gets exceptionally hot or cold. There’s Editor-in-Chief Whitley O’Connor 12¢/MIN AFTER 3-HRS Century Center also volunteer opportunities. Thanks as always for your support, and I’ll look Advertising 9 forward to seeing you right here next month. Oh, and a special thanks to Stitch David Delgado Vendor Coordinator 100 W. Main who re-designed our logo. Address: 1724 NW 4th St. OKC, OK 73106 See more pass options, General inquiries: 405-415-8425 To view all parking options visit 405-628-2367 download the app and more at The Curbside Chronicle is Oklahoma City’s street paper. Vendor assistance: parkingokc.com It was created to provide both a voice and employment Email: [email protected] spokiesokc.com for people experiencing homelessness. Our vendors buy magazines at 75 cents per issue and sell them for Follow us on social media at @CurbsideOKC a suggested $2. They keep the profit. Thanks for your Station and bike touch points including Picking up food from a restaurant downtown? NATHAN POPPE support in ending homelessness in OKC. touchscreens, handlebars, brakes, seats, and seat Look for FREE Food Pick-up only on-street A PROGRAM OF THE HOMELESS ALLIANCE adjustment lever are sanitized every other day. parking near the restaurant. LIMITED TIME ONLY GOOD TO KNOW Practical advice from passionate people
guage to describe my ancestry and the ways I felt walking through the How to talk about world daily.
By Lauren Palmer My interest peaked in Anthropol- systemic racism ogy classes I attended in college, but I quickly realized the depth I longed for was not available to me. > Welcome to our column, Good to Know. The idea is to explore topics — in a quick and Specifically, we rarely discussed the easy way — that can be part of your everyday life. We hope it'll both entertain and educate relationships between Blacks and a broad collection of readers who are mindful about everything from food and fun to politics Whites in the U.S. and never thor- and public transportation. oughly.
In fact, the history in my core univer- sity classrooms was ethnocentric — Where do you even begin a con- there are a few key postures to hold based mostly on Western European versation about systemic racism? that make you a thoughtful and ap- stories. Creating opportunities for First, you must own that systemic preciated contributor to this con- myself to engage stories and ideas racism affects us all — regardless versation. Consider the following from BIPOC has become a part-time of race, education, status or even practices when you’re talking about job, completed in the wee hours of your conscious awareness. This is race. the night and on weekends after the foundation. If you haven’t grap- coming home from my floral design pled with that fact, I encourage you Be fully humble. Abandon any ego- studio. My initial research became a to begin there. This takes work, as centrism or ethnocentrism. catalyst for the bold, beautiful work you may feel like you have a han- that my sister and I get to lead in, all dle on the topic. Chances are you Hone your empathy. This is a mus- toward our collective healing. need to learn, or unlearn, in order cle that must be trained. to come to this conversation pre- pared. Speak the truth. But first, you will have to seek the truth. You cannot If you’re looking for ways to educate rely on what you know right now. yourself and others, there are end- less books, podcasts, articles, film Be held and hold others account- projects and more that are helpful. able. Remain vigilant to altering There’s one particular project that is the systems of oppression that have close to my heart: I am a founder of harmed Black and Brown people for You will have to The Conversation Workshops, a cre- centuries. Vote. Organize. Teach ative and brave anti-racism curricu- Others. seek“ the truth. lum that fosters intentional dialogue for change-oriented communities. Take inventory of your rhythms. You cannot rely Evaluate where you spend your on what you know The first two years of facilitating money, your spheres of influence, these workshops were in-person how you receive your local, nation- right now.” with schools, churches, and friend al, and world news, who you date, groups. We had the privilege of where you worship, among many piloting our work at Oklahoma others factors. State University, where students — Lauren Palmer and professors provided feedback Be open to correction. Enough said. that helped us refine the contents of our workshop, making us ready Remain consistent. When the so- to launch Summer of 2018. Today, cial media frenzy dies down, pro- Editor Note: Lauren Palmer is a studio we also offer an online iteration testers fade from the streets, and the floral designer and interpersonal activist of our workshop as a response to trend to support Black, Indigenous in Oklahoma City. To learn more about COVID-19 and the current race-re- and People of Color (BIPOC) com- The Conversation Workshops please visit, lated uproar the world is experienc- munities ends, will you still stand in converasationworkshopsok.com or via ing. solidarity with the oppressed? Instagram at @conversationworkshopsok. She would be remiss if she didn’t recog- nize the co-creators of the workshop: Dr. Whether you choose to engage The For me, applying the above tips Hillary Coenen, Kate Strum and her sister Conversation Workshops as a re- began about 10 years ago. I was Leah Palmer. To learn more about her source, or you engage one of the ti- seeking answers about the intersec- floral work, visit thewildmother.com or tles on our website’s resource page, tionality of my identity. I needed lan- via Instagram at @thewildmother.
4 ILLUSTRATION BY JAYNA HADWIGER COVID-19 has tested the world. It’s unlike any experience the U.S. has seen before. So, what role does empathy play in our recovery? Will it change how we look at our neighbors and make us take a hard look at our learned behaviors?
Story by George Lang Illustration by Cash Wheeler “It seems to me, looking at the big picture, that the defining response in the United States was an inability to put ourselves in the shoes of someone else who lived across the globe.” — William Liakos
IN those final weeks before the coronavirus pandemic turned their them get a little bit of empathy. They’re teens and they are learning worlds upside down, Brittany Dalton taught her eighth grade stu- so much about the world, and I know they may forget the details of dents about the Holocaust. One of the key elements of her study plan what they read, but at the end of the unit and my time with them, I was a discussion about an understanding of the human condition, emphasize I want them to leave my class as different people.” something that was in short supply in 1933 Germany when Adolf The emergence of coronavirus as a global pandemic threw the Hitler rose to power. question of empathy’s role in a functioning society into sharp relief “It’s fitting that the last unit I did with my students was about the for many Americans. Political divisions had already created a height- Holocaust and empathy,” Dalton said. “Because this is a time we ened sense of difference in the country and encouraged “othering” have to come together in what little ways we can, because nothing people for the sake of electoral gains, but when COVID-19 started about caring is too small these days.” impacting U.S. residents in mid-March and forced people into isola- Her students at Oklahoma City’s Capitol Hill Middle School, 2717 tion, nearly everyone became an “other.” S. Robinson Ave., are mostly Latinx and live in a city where the majority of residents still live in demographically similar enclaves, Terms and conditions where they rarely interact with people who are different from themselves. As she and her students explored the fall of the Weimar To put it in the starkest terms, sympathy is an act of feeling and Republic, the election of Hitler as chancellor of Germany, the end of empathy is an act of understanding. Giving someone who is standing legislative power and the eventual mass murder of six million Jews with a sign on a median at an intersection a $10 bill because you feel in concentration camps, Dalton saw as her students processed the sorry for them is sympathy; doing the same because you identify story and applied it to their own experiences. with the emotions of loss, instability, fear and shame associated with “They’re in eighth grade and a lot of them are, to be honest, kind that situation is empathy. of tough on the outside and outside of school, but I frame the Holo- In a May 2 column published in The Washington Post, a third- caust whenever I teach it as social responsibility, and how discrimi- year medical student named William Liakos discussed the role em- nation and just the simple choices we make add up to the Holocaust pathy plays in response to a major crisis. While Liakos was writing and other atrocities, and that our individual choices have strength,” specifically about the U.S. response to coronavirus, he could have she said. “They always get a little overwhelmed by the historical been talking about any kind of cataclysm. background, but when we break into the social aspect, they really “It seems to me, looking at the big picture, that the defining connect with it. response in the United States was an inability to put ourselves in “My students had a lot of connections to the current political state the shoes of someone else who lived across the globe,” Liakos wrote. of affairs, especially being in a dominantly Hispanic school,” Dalton “What if we’d imagined ourselves living the plight of Chinese resi- said. “I encourage the real world connection, and I loved to see dents trapped in Wuhan during the first stages of the pandemic, or
7 of the Italian doctors forced to triage ventilators and deny them to of much of his teaching. Without empathy, the study of societies and people over a certain age? Might a deeper sense of empathy and ur- group behavior loses much of its impact. gency actually have led us to put together a response that was more “Max Weber said to really understand a group of people, you have pragmatic, and more effective?” to develop empathy, you have to be around the group and under- Empathy is needed to meet human needs in such conditions, and stand why they do what they do and understand the pressures on yet the U.S. government’s response to the early crisis in Wuhan was them in their everyday lives,” Kurtz said. “We don’t do a lot of that — to “other” the Chinese and blame them for the outbreak. Dr. Howard we get socially isolated in our jobs and our professions.” Kurtz, a professor of sociology at Southwestern Oklahoma State An Oklahoma example of empathy deficit and its dangerous effects University in Weatherford, said there are several current surveys on society made national news in the spring. On May 11, truck driver indicating that empathy is declining not just in the United States, but Travis Miller Sr. had just dropped off a delivery at a residence in on a global level. Ashford Hills, a gated community in Edmond. “People don’t seem to care about other peoples’ dilemma,” Kurtz As he tried to exit the neighborhood, a resident of that commu- said. “Obviously, there’s two sides of this, the side that says people nity, David A. Stewart, blocked Miller from leaving Ashford Hills, want to go back to work, they want to go out and play and live nor- telling him he could not go through the gates unless he told Stewart mal lives, and they want us to be empathetic about that. On the other his name and what he delivered. Miller is 42 years old and Black; hand, if you’re a service worker, if you’re working in a meatpacking Stewart is a White business owner in his mid-60s. plant, if you’re working in an large fulfillment plant, an industrial The standoff lasted nearly an hour, and Miller, who recorded the complex, whatever — you’re at a great deal of risk, and I don’t get the incident on Facebook Live, stayed relatively calm as he was chal- sense that people are that concerned, and that’s very disturbing.” lenged by Stewart and another resident. The incident echoed the Such attitudes were illustrated by protests at state capitals across story of Ahmaud Arbery, who was allegedly confronted and shot by the country in late-April and early May, as demands to re-open three attackers in February while he was jogging through a neighbor- businesses and resume normal life became louder. People began to hood in rural Georgia.
“The mental gymnastics to get there is mind-boggling for some of us. We’re in this very strange time where someone who disagrees with you is a bad person who is trying to somehow take away your life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. We’ve got to find a way to come back to that common good place.” — Rev. Lori Walke
ascribe political significance to the simple wearing of a cloth mask, “It could have ended in a very bad way if the truck driver hadn’t that it signaled a kind of disrespect when wearing a mask actually been so patient,” Kurtz said. does more for others than it does for the wearer. Rev. Lori Walke is pastor of Mayflower Congregational UCC Special delivery Church, and much of her average week is spent working with orga- nizations like The Education and Employment Ministry (TEEM) and Michelle Stricklin, 35, runs a property management company for the Homeless Alliance, helping marginalized people find comfort and several Airbnb properties in central Oklahoma City, handling all stability, as well as working with undocumented immigrants who guest communication and maintaining the booking calendar. Before live in fear of being detained and deported. Their crises are often far early-March, business was not just good — it was great. more difficult to personally overcome than what much of the world is “This would be the peak time of year for travel,” Stricklin said. experiencing during the pandemic. “For Oklahoma, starting around the end of February and the begin- Walke said she believes that people can be taught empathy. While ning of March, we usually see an uptick in bookings, and by April working on church projects this spring, she said that many mem- and May, most of the properties are booked solid and stay that way bers of her ministry found they were able to identify with those who until mid-August. So, COVID happened at the peak of our travel are “homebound.” That word typically applies to older people who season.” are unable to leave their homes, but Walke said that the pandemic When COVID-19 reached critical mass in early March, Airbnb helped her colleagues and church members to understand the help- business fell off sharply throughout the country, and the bottom lessness of the homebound. fell out with Stricklin’s Oklahoma City bookings. In one week, she “We now understand what that is like,” she said. “So, a lot of peo- went from 95% booked down to near zero. On March 16, Airbnb ple are re-evaluating how we’ve always done things.” announced its decision to “pause all Airbnb experiences until at least Personal interactions tend to be superficial without sufficient April 30.” levels of empathy for the experiences and conditions of other people. Once the company announced cancelations and refunds, Stricklin Kurtz said that understanding and embracing empathy is a key tenet had to act quickly. Her property management business was her sole
8 Travis Miller Sr. said he was prevented from leaving a gated community outside OKC after making a delivery. This is a still from his 37-minute Facebook Live video of the incident. source of income, and so she started thinking about how commerce continues to move forward in a pandemic situation. After all, people need food and always will need food. So, Stricklin joined Postmates as a delivery driver. At first, she had to wrap her head around the fact that, having earned two bach- elor degrees, she was doing the same work as some teenagers half her age. She received her delivery card from the nationwide food delivery company the day Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt announced his “safer at home” policy for the state. As she began deliveries that day, Stricklin described her inter- actions with customers as “overwhelmingly positive.” It was not unusual for her to receive large tips for deliveries, and many of her experiences were memorable for their graciousness and emotional generosity. “There was a woman who ordered and had me deliver to her hotel,” Stricklin said. “She came down to the ground floor to get it from me; usually, I will take it directly to their rooms. She asked me where she needed to sign, and I told her, ‘Oh, you don’t have to sign anywhere — everything’s paid and taken care of.’ She looked startled and said, ‘But, how do I tip you?’ ” After Stricklin explained the process, the customer, who she described as her mother’s age, seemed pleased, telling her that it was her first time to order food through an app. When Stricklin returned to her car, she learned the customer had given her a $20 tip — roughly a 120% gratuity for the order. Those expressions of empathy and gratitude offer glimmers of hope that, in some way, COVID-19 might be teaching people how to empathize with those around them. Walke has seen it first-hand, though the behavior of anti-maskers during the pandemic tells her there is much work to be done. “The mental gymnastics to get there is mind-boggling for some of us,” she said. “We’re in this very strange time where someone who disagrees with you is a bad person who is trying to somehow take away your life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. We’ve got to find a way to come back to that common good place.” Breaking down the numbers behind homelessness in OKC The first step in solving homelessness is learning how to count. It’s hard to fix a problem that you can’t quantify. Collecting accurate, timely data is critical for identifying trends and determining solutions.
But this report is more than just numbers. These are people, too.
Data provided by CITY OF OKC + HOMELESS ALLIANCE In 2019, Illustrations and layout by 10,171 people received WILLIAM MUSCHINSKE homeless services in OKC. Compiled by CURBSIDE STAFF The Homeless Alliance maintains a database of people experiencing homelessness in OKC. This database allows the community to measure homelessness, understand who’s using services and identify trends. Last year, 10,171 people were served by programs recording data in this Homeless Management Information System.
10 Breaking down the numbers behind homelessness in OKC 1,573 homeless individuals on a single day.
OKC conducted its annual Point in Time Count of the homeless population on January 23, 2020 and 1,573 people were counted. It should be noted that these statistics are from a one-day count, required by the federal government, meant to provide a snapshot of homelessness on any given day. The study is not designed to be a complete analysis of the issue.
Homelessness is challenging to quantify. Although a lot of planning and research goes into making sure the count is as accurate as possible, things like weather on the day of the count can impact results. It shouldn’t be considered an exclusive measuring tool. Instead, OKC has adopted a coordinated entry process and database to more accurately measure the population on a daily basis.
Three hundred additional people were counted this year compared to the same day last year. While this represents a 24% increase, it does not necessarily mean homelessness increased by that amount in OKC. Throughout 2019, the community increased its street outreach efforts which allowed several organizations to collaborate on their engagement with people who are unsheltered. As a result, outreach teams have better pinpointed the locations of people and camps and established rapport with people making counting easier and more organized this year. Better counting strategies likely contributed to the increase, according to the Homeless Alliance. One day of homelessness in OKC This is what homelessness looked like on Report severe Jan. 23, 2020 based on Point in Time Count data. mental illness 405 Age Gender or 26%
11% 22%
Male Female Under 17 18-34 66% 33%
41% 24% Trans Suffered from 1% domestic violence 35-54 Over 55 128 Living situation or 8%
Transitional housing Emergency shelter Unsheltered 166 850 557 or 11% or 54% or 35% Time-limited, temporary housing People temporarily living in a People living outside or in a and services. Catholic Charities supervised, privately operated location not meant for longterm and Neighborhood Services shelter. Salvation Army and City habitation like in a car or a Organization are local examples. Rescue Mission are local examples. camping tent. Barriers
Report severe Suffer from Have mental illness substance abuse HIV or AIDS 405 523 30 or 26% or 33% or 2%
OK Policy Institute Substance abuse is both There are approximately estimates 97,000 uninsured a cause and a result of 37.9 million people living Oklahomans live with a homelessness, often arising with HIV globally, and tens mental health diagnosis, after people lose their of millions of people have roughly the entire population housing and struggle to cope. died of AIDS-related causes of Broken Arrow. since the beginning of the epidemic. Female 33%
Suffered from Unaccompanied Chronically domestic violence Youth Homeless 128 90 441 or 8% or 6% or 28%
On average, an Oklahoman People under the age of 25 HUD defines chronic dies every five days as a not sleeping in the same homelessness as a person result of domestic violence, place as a parent or guardian. with a disabling condition more than 1,600 victims Most unaccompanied minors who has either been between 1998 and 2016, are between 18-24. Youth are continuously homeless for according to the Oklahoma more challenging to locate as a year or homeless at least Domestic Violence Fatality they tend to make an effort four separate times during Review Board. not to be found. the past three years that combined equal a full year.
This survey did not attempt to count people who are staying in motels, treatment facilities, emergency rooms, jails or who are couch homeless — people who are homeless but are temporarily staying with a friend, relative or acquaintance. The number of couch homeless in OKC is uncertain, but the Oklahoma City Public School district had 2,474 homeless children enrolled at the end of the 2020 school year, the majority of whom were couch homeless.
13 Race 61% 26% White Black Multiple Native Races American 5% 8% Multiple Native Races American
Most non-White communities in the U.S. experience homelessness at higher rates. The most striking disproportions can be found among African Americans, who make up 26% of the homeless population despite only representing 15% of OKC’s general population, and Native Americans who make up 8% of the homeless population despite representing less than 3% of OKC’s general population.
There are many causes to homelessness including housing disparities, criminal justice involvement, access to health and mental healthcare, education and employment gaps. All of which tend to disproportionately impact people of color.
Black White For a closer look at Black homelessness, turn to page 24.
Ethnicity
Although race and ethnicity are often used interchangeably, race OUR 55 EMPLOYEES is more often defined by physical characteristics while ethnicity is HEARD ON HURD REACHED OVER VOLUNTEER AND AVERAGE OF 8% more often thought of as culture, language or place of origin. The U.S. Census and PIT Count look at whether or not people are of Latino 200,000 ATTENDEES 20 HOURS origin. Latinos make up 8 percent of the homeless population while PER YEAR WITH AN ECONOMIC IMPACT OF $6 MILLION IN 2018 representing 19 percent of OKC’s general population. Latino COLLECTIVELY THAT IS
WE SUPPORTED THE REVITALIZATION IN UPTOWN 23RD THROUGH THE TOWER 1,100 HOURS REDEVELOPMENT OF THE HISTORIC THEATRE OF DONATED TIME Veterans Families EVERY YEAR WE SPONSOR OVER 60 LOCAL BUSINESSES & NON-PROFITS AND DONATE OVER $114,000 ANNUALLY
150 264 AND FOR EVERY DEPOSIT WE RECEIVE or 10% or 17% WE LEND 95% BACK DIRECTLY INTO THE EDMOND & citizensedmond.com OKLAHOMA CITY COMMUNITY WE LAUNCHED Many veterans returning from deployment A homeless family is defined as a household 1 east 1st street, edmond,ok CASH MOBS WE DONATED often face invisible wounds of war, including living with at least one child under 18. Youth 117 TURKEYS TO DIRECTLY SUPPORT 405.341.6650 TO THE EDMOND COMMUNITY traumatic brain injury and PTSD, both of under the age of 18 account for 65 percent SMALL BUSINESSES IN TO CELEBRATE 117 OUR COMMUNITY which correlate with homelessness. of this number. YEARS IN BUSINESS
14 Conclusion
Although the number of people counted during the Point in Time Count increased this year, the good news is our community is getting better at housing people. Thanks to years of collaboration, local organizations are doing a better job of coordinating services. It makes it easier to track resources as they become available and allows the agencies to pool their efforts to house clients faster. The public also voted to pass MAPS 4, which included funding for additional affordable housing in years to come.
But services to prevent people from becoming homeless in the first place are largely beyond what local service groups can provide, and significant increases in local housing costs over the last decade and stagnant wages have added pressure for people with financial difficulties. It’s also difficult to predict the economic impact of the coronavirus on our community. With some of the highest eviction rates in the country prior to COVID-19, it’s possible we will see more people fall into homelessness as unemployment rates increase nationwide.
The community is working to bring together multiple nonprofits and government agencies to take a team approach to housing people. It’s working. We just need to invest in more affordable housing, supportive services and addressing systemic issues that cause homelessness, according to the Homeless Alliance.
OUR 55 EMPLOYEES HEARD ON HURD REACHED OVER VOLUNTEER AND AVERAGE OF 200,000 ATTENDEES 20 HOURS PER YEAR WITH AN ECONOMIC IMPACT OF $6 MILLION IN 2018
COLLECTIVELY THAT IS
WE SUPPORTED THE REVITALIZATION IN UPTOWN 23RD THROUGH THE TOWER 1,100 HOURS REDEVELOPMENT OF THE HISTORIC OF DONATED TIME THEATRE EVERY YEAR
WE SPONSOR OVER 60 LOCAL BUSINESSES & NON-PROFITS AND DONATE OVER $114,000 ANNUALLY
AND FOR EVERY DEPOSIT WE RECEIVE WE LEND 95% BACK DIRECTLY INTO THE EDMOND & citizensedmond.com OKLAHOMA CITY COMMUNITY WE LAUNCHED 1 east 1st street, edmond,ok CASH MOBS WE DONATED 117 TURKEYS TO DIRECTLY SUPPORT 405.341.6650 TO THE EDMOND COMMUNITY SMALL BUSINESSES IN TO CELEBRATE 117 OUR COMMUNITY YEARS IN BUSINESS BEHIND THE
Story by MIGUEL RIOS + MOLLIE BRYANT The 2020 Point in Time Count took place Jan. 23, with the Photos by NATHAN POPPE help of more than 200 vol- COUNT unteers throughout the day and across the city.
About 250 volunteers combed streets, shelters, libraries, meal sites and helped host a youth event for the city’s annual Point in Time Count of people experiencing homelessness. Here’s a look at the groundwork that made it happen.
When D’Metryus Lacopo, 24, got an apartment with his husband in December, it was a major triumph. Not only would they have a space to make their own but also they were ending a struggle of sleeping on the streets, in parking garages and in their car.
“As a married couple, it’s really hard to feel married when you’re not allowed to sleep in the same bed or give each other a kiss, and we weren’t allowed to do that at the shelter,” he said. “I’m also transgender, and it makes it really difficult for me to just exist in a space that I don’t know for a fact is completely safe, and while Sisu is really good about making sure that people who come in are respectful of people, you don’t always know exactly who you’re talking to. Everyone you’re interacting with, you’ve met in the last month or so. Feeling com- fortable changing, taking a shower, even using the restroom is really difficult.”
Sisu Youth Services is a local nonprofit focusing on providing services and assistance to youth experiencing homelessness. Lacopo said that when he was homeless, he felt there weren’t enough resources for LGBTQ+ youth. He’s planning to enroll at Rose State College, with the goal of becoming a social worker.
Volunteers surveyed people at city shelters, libraries, churches and meal sites throughout the day.
16 Editor note: This article is part of a collaborative project about homelessness in Oklahoma City by the Curbside Chronicle, Oklahoma Gazette and Big If True. This project is funded through a grant by Inasmuch Foundation and Ethics & Excellence in Journalism Foundation facilitated by the Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair State Story by MIGUEL RIOS + MOLLIE BRYANT The 2020 Point in Time Count took place Jan. 23, with the University. Photos by NATHAN POPPE help of more than 200 vol- unteers throughout the day and across the city.
Organizers say the 2020 Point in Time Count for people experiencing homelessness was the most organized it has ever been. (405) 526-2321 BEHIND THE COUNT
“I was homeless throughout most of my first chronically homeless, a group that is most said. “Every team we have, we put an out- semester, but when I was in school, I didn’t likely to use emergency rooms, be hospi- reach provider on. We try to put a VA provid- feel homeless. I felt like a student,” Lacopo talized and frequently interact with law en- er on each team as well.” said. “It was a way to get away from the fact forcement. that you’re sleeping in a car. It was a way Before the Point in Time Count, officials also to get away from the fact that I didn’t know The count helps provides a snapshot of the make sure the survey is easy and efficient. when I was going to be eating next.” scope of homelessness in Oklahoma City Volunteers attended a mandatory training but isn’t an exclusive measuring tool. Num- session the day before the count. Lacopo shared his story at an event con- bers from the count only represent a portion nected to the city’s 2020 Point in Time of the actual homeless population, which is Beyond asking people experiencing home- Count, which took place all day Jan. 23. much higher. In fact, 11,278 people received lessness what factors contributed to their sit- In the past he was counted as homeless homeless services in the city in 2018, ac- uation and the length of time they have been during the annual survey, but this year he cording to the Homeless Management Infor- homeless, the survey also asks about things was a volunteer. mation System. like substance abuse, physical health, men- tal health and domestic violence. Before there was any sign of the sun, more PLANNING THE COUNT than 80 volunteers arrived at Homeless Al- “Some questions ask for very personal infor- liance’s day shelter to help with the count. Although it’s an estimate that can be affect- mation, so you want to make the question as ed by factors like the weather, the survey non-threatening as possible,” Shadid said. By 4 a.m., 16 teams spread across the gives the city and service providers an idea city to count and survey people of all ages of the scope of the issue and helps them Despite only being required to count peo- sleeping on the streets. Other volunteers identify trends that might be affecting our ple experiencing homelessness every other did the same across city shelters, libraries, homeless community. year, Shadid said they do it annually and go churches and meal sites throughout the day. above and beyond to create better outcomes In an effort to better count youth experienc- Jerod Shadid, homeless services program and strengthen their own data trends. ing homelessness, almost 40 volunteers planner for the City of Oklahoma City, said also hosted an event where young people they begin planning and preparing for the “I’d like to think that we possibly have the could get services, food and incentives to count about six months out. Officials start most organized count, at least in the state,” take the survey. by reviewing a map that shows the location he said. “If we have to do something just to of various camps throughout the city. The get the bare information, we want to put our The count and survey results, which repre- map is broken into sections to determine the time into something that’s going to be use- sent an estimate of the number of residents amount of morning teams. ful to us too. We go well beyond what we’re experiencing homelessness throughout required to collect just to get the information the community, are submitted to the U.S. This year, Shadid said 250 volunteers that allows us to see where we’re having Department of Housing and Urban Devel- showed up throughout the day. For the successes and where we need to focus opment to determine what funding cities morning shift, roughly 80 volunteers were more resources.” will get to address homelessness. This is split up into 16 teams. Teams going to more required at least every other year for cities secluded locations also have a police officer COUNTING YOUTH that receive federal funding for homeless on the team, but Shadid said they've never assistance programs. had any violent or threatening encounters Last year, 7 percent of those surveyed were since they've done the count this way in homeless youth, who are 25 years old or Last year’s survey identified about 1,300 2012. younger and not accompanied by a parent people on the day of the count, including or guardian. The study identified 85 home- (405) 526-2321 children, who were experiencing homeless- “We work closely with all of our outreach less youth, but service providers said that ness in Oklahoma City. About 1 in 5 were providers to build out the teams,” Shadid figure represents just a fraction of the total group, which is notoriously undercounted.
May Cruz, right, surveys a man Over the years, service providers were experiencing homelessness at a frustrated by a pattern of finding homeless downtown OKC gas station on youth camps only to have them vanish on Jan. 23. the day of the Point in Time Count. Youth avoid the survey out of fear that they’ll be arrested, returned to homes that might have been abusive, placed in foster care or other concerns.
“They have a tendency to want to hide from service providers because they don’t have the same autonomy as an adult, so they are a little hesitant that they’re going to be re- turned to a situation they don’t want to be in, that they’re going to be turned in, and they’re also just more hesitant of service providers in general,” Sisu executive direc- tor Jamie Caves said.
An estimated 40 percent of homeless youth identify as LGBTQ+, and many have
19 In downtown Oklahoma City, a man experiencing homelessness is counted by Cale Powers on Jan. 23. BEHIND THE COUNT faced rejection by their families. “Often- vene, the better, and if we intervene now as choice but to send them wherever they were times, they’re scared of DHS,” Caves said. youth, they will not be cyclically homeless, last night, which could be bridges and camp “They’re scared of being placed in another they will not be chronically homeless and sites and behind buildings,” Dallaly said. “I home that is not affirming, so that’s a con- they will not be in need of systems of care have to field these calls of people needing cern.” for the rest of their life,” Johnson said. shelter in this age group, and I can’t place them anywhere and it breaks my heart.” This year, to address the historically low es- Falisha Baxter, 25, grew up with chaos in timate, service providers experimented with foster care, moving constantly before she ON THE STREETS a new event for youth without a home, a aged out of the system. She had been welcoming environment where youth could homeless for the past three years and had Volunteers came from the nonprofit, private take the survey while also getting access to camped in a wooded area with her boy- and public sectors and said they wanted a number of vital resources. Sisu organized friend. At the event, she received clothes to help address homelessness and learn the event, and nine nonprofits and agencies and hand warmers, which she said can be more about the issue. Oklahoma County provided services. a lifesaver. commissioner Carrie Blumert was one of a few elected officials who participated in the The event provided youth with a warm meal, “With resources like this, it helps a lot be- morning count. backpacks filled with food, cold-weather ne- cause … it literally makes people think that cessities like hand warmers and an array of there’s still hope, that not everyone’s given “It was this weird dichotomy where when services, including HIV testing, therapy and up on us,” Baxter said. “There are still peo- you’re out there and looking for people, assistance filling out housing ap- you want to find people to talk to plications with Oklahoma Housing you, but in another sense, I wish Finance Agency. that we wouldn't have found any- one because that would mean that In addition to youth counted our area didn’t have anyone living throughout the day, Caves said outside,” she said. “My communi- 40 youth participated in the event, cations director came with me, and which she expects to continue and I think she was nervous at first. But potentially expand with a second when we finished up, she goes, ‘I location next year. I DON’T THINK want to do that again. I want to do that next year.’ ” Service providers like Pivot direc- ANYONE“ WHO tor of emergency services Lindsay Being her first time participating, Cates believe the event could be she said she felt a responsibility to a route to building trust with youth LEAVES THIS get involved and meet people who experiencing homelessness. are affected by her decisions that might not typically interact with her “My hope is that the more volun- EXPERIENCE otherwise. Blumert said she plans teers we have, the more our com- to volunteer for the count again munity starts to actually look at that LOOKS AT THE and promote it, which she hopes issue, things could change,” Cates will encourage more people to do said. “A big thing is a living wage. the same. ... We have a low cost of living in CITY THE SAME. Oklahoma, but it’s really not be- “One man that I interviewed had cause wages have not increased. — CYNDI MUNSON, just gotten out of prison and was We’re not setting up youth for suc- literally sleeping under a bridge. cess.” STATE REPRESENTATIVE His name was Elvis, and he just stayed curled up in his sleeping Despite Oklahoma’s low cost of bag and talked to us,” she said. living, minimum hourly wage in the “I think that every elected official state has remained $7.25 since should have to go through this be- 2008. According to data from Oklahoma ple who want to help and opportunities to cause it really, really puts you in contact with Housing Finance Agency, in 2019, it took turn our life around, and the most important people whose lives are affected by the deci- a $14.92 hourly wage to afford an average thing: It gives us the opportunity to look for- sions you make. I will probably never forget one-bedroom apartment in the city. This ward for tomorrow.” Elvis.” means a minimum-wage worker would have to work more than 80 hours a week to afford Andru Dallaly, a program manager for The 2020 count was the fourth time State a one-bedroom apartment. homeless youth services at the Department Rep. Cyndi Munson volunteered for the of Mental Health, said the youth who attend- morning shift. She said since the count hap- Heather Johnson, Sisu’s board president, ed were grateful to receive things like new pens a few weeks before the legislative ses- previously served as the homeless liaison clothes. But despite the event’s success, sion begins, it’s a “grounding practice” that for Mid-Del School District, where she was he was reminded that ultimately, there just fuels her to advocate for those who don’t struck by the number of students struggling aren’t enough resources to help the city’s have access to many basic necessities. with homelessness. She said some of Sisu’s homeless youth, especially when it comes clients became homeless after aging out of to shelters. “I don’t think anyone who leaves this ex- the foster care system, and others escaped perience looks at the city the same,” she homes where they faced abuse and neglect. “All the youth that we have here who are said. “You can’t look at anyone or our city homeless, we don’t even have enough the same because now you know, you’re “I very much believe the earlier we inter- shelter beds to give to them, so we have no more knowledgeable, you had firsthand
21 BEHIND THE COUNT
IT’S ALMOST LIKE THEY FORGET PEOPLE“ EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS ARE HUMAN. — JEROD SHADID, CITY OF OKC experience having a conversation through He said everyone who sleeps under the those surveys. It should change our mind- same bridge knows and keeps one another set to then ultimately advocate for better accountable to make sure they don’t run into outcomes and keep those in power account- problems with the police. able to make sure we're not just thinking of those who can call us and visit us but those “People think that most people out here on who are just trying to survive and thrive in the streets are either criminals or steal or their everyday life. We have to be more con- beg, and it’s not,” he said. “Most of these cerned about the services they need.” guys that are down here — I’ve been down here the longest — they’re really good peo- Oklahoma Gazette tagged along with Team ple. Really good people.” 2 led by Sonrisa Nowicki, a case manager at the Homeless Alliance. From 4 a.m. to Wren also expressed his gratitude to the roughly 7:30 a.m., the team visited several person conducting the survey and said he encampments and underpasses, counting was more than happy to contribute in any and surveying almost 30 individuals while way that could help get at least one person handing out bus passes and donations. into housing.
Throughout the morning, Team 2 encoun- “When someone does come and talk, it tered several people sleeping on the streets makes you feel like somebody is thinking who, while taking the survey, said they were about you,” he said. not homeless. Officials said that while peo- ple might not want to admit to being home- DIRECTING RESOURCES less or needing assistance, it’s typically a coping mechanism or due to mental health Shadid said this year’s count was the most or substance abuse issues, pride or wanting organized it has ever been and went off to avoid the stigma associated with home- without any significant hiccups. Everyone lessness. who signed up for the morning shift showed up or called ahead to cancel, and through “There’s a stigma on homelessness. There’s the various morning teams, the count also a stigma on, ‘I can’t take care of myself. I’m reached more places than it ever had in the vulnerable,’ ” Sonrisa said. “No one really past. wants to admit that. That’s why we tell peo- ple we just want to help you be self-suffi- Results from the count help identify areas cient. … We don’t want to force anybody to where more resources need to be directed. do anything. We want people to live their For example, when numbers go up for vet- best lives.” erans or families experiencing homeless- ness, efforts are better coordinated to ad- Team 2 also encountered a pregnant wom- dress that subpopulation and specific issues an who said she simply could not afford a they run into. Shadid said another benefit of home. Others told volunteers they did not the count is getting people from the public have a home because of incarceration, ag- directly involved and meeting with people ing out of foster care, mental health issues experiencing homelessness to better under- or a combination of other factors. stand the issue.
Dennis Wren, a man who slept under a “A lot of people see this, and they don’t un- bridge the night before, told Gazette he had derstand it. And … it’s almost like they for- an accident that caused him to have major get people experiencing homelessness are migraine headaches. He said living with oth- human,” Shadid said. “It's nice to get people ers intensified those but once he was on his in contact with them, talking with them to re- own, they subsided. mind them that you’re talking about people here with problems. And yes, it is difficult to “Police, they come through here and said handle, but imagine how difficult their lives as long as I keep it clean, there won’t be are. It helps to just humanize the issue so any problems,” he said. “You make it work people are not so reactionary about it and for you.” kind of understand it a little better.” Inside the OKC Day Shelter, volunteers administer the Point in Time Count survey in the early morning on Jan. 23.
23 Dominique Gray was photographed outside the Ralph Ellison Library in Oklahoma City. INEQUALITY CHECK
Black Americans continue to be overrepresented in the local and national homeless population. Historical housing discrimination, income inequality and an overwhelming state incarceration rate aren’t helping. This story examines systemic burdens — which extend far beyond poverty — that are making it more difficult for Black Oklahomans to secure and maintain a home as well as build wealth.
Story and photos by Nathan Poppe
ominique Gray lost his safety net at 17. He was sleeping “I wanted to go to school during this time but, you know, the pandem- outside of the Ralph Ellison Library in Oklahoma City. ic,” Dominique said. “So, it’s kind of changing the game a little bit. I’m Beneath the book drop. For a full year, he experienced building up financially. I just bought a used car and already paid it off. homelessness until a librarian connected him to a path- I’d like to save up for my own place again.” way home. How had things gotten so severe? Throughout the country, a third of Black households experience severe DBouts of depression, constant bullying and fights at school culminated rent burden. That means half or more of their income is dedicated to with his mom kicking him out of the house. Before that, Dominique covering rent. In OKC, Black households experiencing severe rent bur- survived an abusive foster family. He remains estranged from his bio- den are at 25%. It’s been stuck this way for more than a decade, accord- logical father. Growing up poor in a single-family household with five ing to Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies. brothers, his hardships were frequent. But homelessness made Domi- nique feel like the world was against him. There is no single cause, or convenient fix, for homelessness. And the issue isn’t color blind. The odds are against Black Oklahomans. “I didn’t want to be here anymore,” he said. “That’s tough to even say. In my head, I knew I wanted to learn. I wanted to get somewhere in life. I Meghan Mueller works as the director of community capacity building at felt like people just didn’t see that.” the Homeless Alliance and identifies individual circumstances, systemic failures and structural factors as the root of homelessness. She said it’s Black Americans make up 15% of Oklahoma City’s population, but they oversimplifying to attribute homelessness to substance abuse or domestic are 26% of the homeless population. Roughly 11,000 OKC residents violence because most individual factors don’t impact everyone equally. experience homelessness annually, according to the Homeless Manage- ment Information System. Same goes for systemic failures which occur when safety nets fail — think aging out of foster care or someone getting discharged from jail This racial trend isn’t unique to our city. It’s a national disparity. Four with nowhere to live. Structural factors are large-scale societal issues like out of every 10 Americans experiencing homelessness are Black, despite the cost of living, healthcare or racism. comprising only 13% of the U.S. population, according to the U.S. De- partment of Housing and Urban Development. Homelessness doesn’t happen in a vacuum, Meghan said. It’s dozens of different systems interacting and ultimately failing people. In 2019, Now 22, Dominique has finished high school. Life is better. He ended Homeless Alliance and partner agencies housed 854 people — more than his street homelessness and recently received his first promotion work- 300 were Black. ing at the Will Rogers Airport. His sights are set on OSU-OKC. Domi- nique wants to become a paramedic. “Black Americans are disproportionately impacted by a myriad of social issues because of generations of trauma and oppression,” Meghan said. But rebuilding one’s life is a delicate process. When COVID-19 impacted “You can’t look at individual homelessness without considering the en- his work schedule, Dominique moved out of his apartment after living tire picture. there for more than a year. He now relies on a support system of friends and his church community for a temporary place to stay. Until recently, “I think it is certainly a major concern for us as homeless service pro- Dominique depended on Uber to drive him to work, a daily cost of $20. viders. When you look at the disparities in housing and health outcomes across the board, I think it is a crisis. These disparities will not go away That amount doubled if a co-worker couldn’t bring him home. without major reforms in a variety of systems.” Dominique Gray was photographed outside the Ralph Ellison Library in Oklahoma City. 25 INEQUALITY CHECK
The Black-White homeownership gap not only has persisted but also has widened to historical lengths. Not since before the 1968 Fair Housing Act — which made race-based housing discrimination illegal — has the Black home ownership rate dipped to 41.8 percent, a stunning 30.1 percent less than White homeownership. The gap’s growth has been attributed to three main factors: income, marital rate and credit scores. VIA urban institute
READING A REDLINING MAP
Robert Nelson, director of the Digital Scholarship Lab at the University of Richmond, helped design and lead the efforts of Mapping Inequality.
The project collected more than 150 archived redlining maps and overlayed them over modern city maps.
Nelson explained the key for Oklahoma City’s 1930s-era redlining map. It’s best interpreted by the following letter grades.
A — green, labeled as #G, considered best B — blue, labeled as #B, considered desirable C — brown, labeled as #Y, considered declining D — red, labeled as #R, considered hazardous
The white areas, labeled as #W, were commercial or undeveloped properties.
REDLINING REALITIES contagion. Redlining went beyond FHA-backed loans and spread to the entire mortgage industry, which was already rife with racism, excluding Although Oklahoma was still a young state in the aftermath of the Great Black people from most legitimate means of obtaining a mortgage.” Depression, the seeds of housing discrimination had been planted in the Sooner State. The evidence of inequality was painted on redlining maps. Camille Landry is a community activist and owner of Nappy Roots Books, which is known for both retail and being a community center In an attempt to gauge the riskiness of housing mortgages in the late for northeast OKC residents. She has felt the impact of redlining for as 1930s, the U.S. government — through its own Home Owners’ Loan Cor- long as she can remember. It’s obvious to anyone who’s lived it, she said. poration — created color-coded maps. The term redlining was born from neighborhoods with non-White residents, commonly marked in red. For When she used to flip houses throughout the city, Camille would always Oklahoma City, much of the east and south residential portions of the check to see if there was a clause in the property deed prohibiting a city were red and also labeled “hazardous.” Black owner. There often was.
Ta-Nehisi Coates — in his essay “Case for Reparations” — detailed how “I’m sitting here in a house, which according to the State of Oklaho- Black families seeking a home were often forced to rely on predatory ma, it’s illegal for me to occupy,” she said. “Now those provisions were lenders when they couldn’t access Federal Housing Administration-in- overturned … but that legacy of discrimination still exists. It’s still on sured mortgages. Although Coates’ words focused on Chicago’s history, the books.” the practice commonly occurred in cities across the country. Another example can be seen in the ongoing lack of a grocery store on “Neighborhoods where Black people lived … were usually considered the eastside. Camille remembers discussions from 25 years ago aimed ineligible for FHA backing,” he wrote. “Black people were viewed as a at fixing the problem. Black doctors, dentists and business leaders were
26 interested in investing and Associated Wholesale Grocers was considering building a grocery store near the Oklahoma State Capitol. It ultimately fell through.
Camille was confused. She was hoping to represent other single mothers just wanting the same resources available in more affluent parts of town. She knew other members on this grocery store committee were better off financially and had business savvy, but she didn’t yet understand how they lacked the wealth to attract the store. So, she asked why it couldn’t be done independently.
Construction loans. Building costs. Freezers. Gas, sewer and electrical lines. Hiring and training a staff. Stocking an entire store. All that and more had to happen before the doors could open and a register made a sale.
“That’s what redlining does,” Camille said. “It removes the financial clout from my community that would enable the people who work hard, have business knowledge and are careful with their money. It’s not that they have any less money than the person who is a real estate developer, but they have the wrong skin tone to be able to go to a major bank and ask to develop a shopping center. Therefore, there still isn’t a grocery store in my neighborhood.”
WAGE GAP
Tony LeSure hasn’t experienced homelessness but currently feels the stress of living from paycheck to paycheck. The Oklahoma City native recently lost a telemarketing job and took a paycut at his new employer.
Tony went from making as much as $38 an hour to $13 an hour. He also used to be able to take mental health days when he felt stressed or over- worked. Today, it’s much harder for that to happen. He said he simply can’t afford to miss a day of work.
“I know there are people who struggle with this,” Tony said. “They’re not OK. Yet, they have to keep pushing because the bills have to be paid. I feel your pain on that. I hate it for you. You’re not by yourself.”
Across the board, it’s becoming harder and harder for Oklahomans to meet their basic needs such as housing, food and transportation. Accord- ing to Living Wage Calculator, a single adult living in the Oklahoma City metro needs to make $11.27 an hour to achieve a living wage.
Minimum wage has been frozen at $7.25 an hour in Oklahoma since 2009. A study by the Bureau of Labor Statistics concluded a Black worker is 50% more likely than a White worker to make minimum wage or less.
COVID-19 has further complicated wage gaps. The New York Times re- ported in June that less than half of Black adults in the U.S. now have a job due to pandemic shutdowns. DRIVING ARTS +
Financial hurdles persist even when incomes are combined under one CULTURE + COMMUNITY roof. Black families with a new baby have a median household income of Proud supporter of The Curbside Chronicle $36,300 while White families sit at $80,000, according to an analysis of 2018 census data by the Center on Poverty & Social Policy. and Norman Arts Council
A NEED FOR JUSTICE
We’re living in a reality where 4 in 100 Black Oklahomans are housed in prisons and jails. The incarceration rate is five times higher for Black Oklahomans than for White, according to the Oklahoma Policy Institute.
Incarceration not only creates debt and destroys wealth but also causes numerous collateral consequences impacting housing, voting and future employment, according to Prison Policy Initiative. INEQUALITY CHECK
In late 2019, Oklahoma officials made a concerted effort to release low-level offenders in the largest mass commutation in U.S. history. It A protester holds a Black Lives Matter sign at only scratched the surface while a number of prisoners were released an Oklahoma City demonstration on May 30. without housing arrangements. The Associated Press reported in January that the state’s prison population dropped below 25,000 for the first time in more than a decade, yet overcrowding persists.
Protests sparked by the murder of George Floyd have led to renewed criticisms of policing throughout the U.S. One figure hits especially close to home.
MappingPoliceViolence.org reported Oklahoma City police have killed 48 people since 2013. Twenty four were Black. This is the second highest rate in the nation.
Oklahoma City Police Chief Wade Gourley was pressed on the topic during a June press conference, and he dismissed the existence of system- ic issues in his department. “I just don’t want folks making the assump- tion there are systemic problems here because there are not,” Gourley said.
Ward 2 City Councilmember James Cooper challenged that idea with six proposals pushing to change policing. The effort aims to expand crisis in- tervention training to the entire department as well as increase homeless outreach. The department currently has two officers dedicated to home- less outreach. The proposals passed unanimously on June 16.
“This is the start,” Cooper told The Frontier. “For decades, too many levels of government didn’t address mental health, domestic violence, generational poverty and cyclical violence. So, these proposals are just the start of the conversation about how we right those wrongs.”
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PROUD SUPPORTER OF THE CURBSIDE CHRONICLE As his new joint Da 5 Bloods is released by Netflix, Academy Award-winning director Spike Lee speaks to The Big Issue about race and rage in America.
Interview by Steven MacKenzie Photo by Jason Bell
“We can learn from history - if we Spike Lee wake up.”
> This feature originally ran in The Big Issue, a street paper based in the United Kingdom. The Big Issue magazine launched in 1991 in response to the growing number of “rough sleepers” on the streets of London. The Big Issue and the Curbside Chronicle are both members of the International Network of Street Papers, or INSP, which includes more than 100 street papers worldwide. 30 Two Black men killed by the state 250 years apart… Lee pulls back from individual to international trauma. History can separate and disconnect subjects from each other, “Da 5 March 5, 1770, Boston. Eight British soldiers fire into a group Bloods” returns the context. It opens with a montage of archive of protesters. Five fall. The first to die — the first American to die footage: flag-planting man on ‘Da Moon,’ Black power at the for the nation’s independence — Crispus Attucks. In his mid-40s, Olympics, Vietnamese fields sprayed with chemical weapons. of African and Native American descent, Attucks became a sym- Demonstrators clubbed by police at the 1968 Democratic Con- bol of the American Revolution, the abolitionist movement, then vention, anti-war protesters shot at Kent State University, monks was largely forgotten. self-immolating on the streets of Saigon, the Viet Cong execution May 25, 2020, Minneapolis. Arresting a man suspected of us- captured in a picture whose power can’t be put into words. ing a fake $20 bill, an officer restrains 46-year-old George Floyd You cannot see these images without thinking of similar scenes by kneeling on his neck for nearly nine minutes. Floyd repeats in America now. Even Apollo 11 has its contemporary equivalent “I can’t breathe” and pleads “don’t kill me.” In the wake of his in the SpaceX mission — both incredible achievements neverthe- death, nationwide protests break out, cities burn. less launched from a backdrop of mindless violence and mass The exceptional thing about George Floyd’s killing is that it is unrest. Footage of police brutality and cities under siege from the not exceptional. He was just the latest — maybe not even the latest 1960s could have been captured last night, could be replicated by the time you read this — victim of a society built on inequality tonight. and exploitation since its conception. After the Boston Massacre, “History repeats itself,” Lee says from his office in Brooklyn. future Founding Father and president John Adams, in his role as “We can learn from history — if we wake up.” attorney defending the British troops, painted the protesters as: What most of us know about the war in Vietnam comes from “a motley rabble of saucy boys, negros and molattoes” with At- movies, so making “Da 5 Bloods” are you filmmaker or historian? tucks encouraging conflict with his “mad behavior.” Today, Presi- “It doesn’t have to be one or the other. I’m a filmmaker and we dent Trump brands protesters as “THUGS” and threatens: “When are telling history.” the looting starts, the shooting starts.” Filming on location, Lee traveled to Vietnam for the first time. Floyd’s death came as tensions were already rising after oth- “We did not want to dehumanize the Vietnamese people,” he er race-related killings. In March, emergency medical technician says. “They were fighting for their country. Previously, they had Breonna Taylor, 26, was killed in a botched police raid, hunting kicked China’s ass, kicked France’s ass and eventually they kicked a perpetrator who was already in custody. In February, Ahmaud the United States of America’s ass. Arbery was killed in Brunswick, Ohio. Arrests were only made “Vietnam is a very small country. These are very proud people after footage of the shooting was leaked and went viral. but a beautiful people. I did not want to make the Vietcong the “How Many Times Does History Have To Repeat Itself Before villains in no way, shape or form.” The Murder Of Black Bodies In Broad Daylight Ends” Lee posted Conditions on location were tough — you can see it in the sweat in response to Floyd’s death, alongside clips from his 1989 film that pours off the lead actors. Lee is just happy production avoid- “Do the Right Thing” where one of the characters, Raheem, is ed the horrors his friend Francis Ford Coppola encountered mak- choked to death by a police officer’s baton. ing “Apocalypse Now.” “I had the luxury of seeing what Francis For four decades Spike Lee’s films have fearlessly addressed did and I said, not for me! Martin Sheen had a nervous break- big issues. Early indies “She’s Gotta Have It,” “Jungle Fever” down [as well as a heart attack], we didn’t have to go that far.” and “Crooklyn” showcased a cinematic maverick telling untold “Da 5 Bloods” is similarly epic, far more urgent, centered stories of Black America, “Malcolm X” resurrected a civil rights around a blistering performance by Delroy Lindo as Paul, an in- icon, “25th Hour” defined post-9/11 loss and anxiety, “Chi-Raq” timidating MAGA-cap-wearing bully on the surface, a brittle and took aim at gun culture (in rhyming couplets), “BlackkKlansman” broken man inside. Despite Lee only ever referring to Trump as taught us to infiltrate hate, winning Lee an Oscar in 2019. “Agent Orange,” Paul is no caricature; the anger, pain and frus- His latest joint, “Da 5 Bloods,” released this past month on Net- tration that darkened his heart is easy to empathize with. flix, is about the Vietnam War but telling of our incendiary times. “Life treats people differently,” Lee says. “Post-traumatic stress Four African-American bloods — a term of camaraderie used by affects people in different ways. The war turned this guy into an Black soldiers — return to Vietnam to exhume and repatriate the ‘Agent Orange’ supporter.” remains of their former commander (and dig up gold they buried History is condemned to repeat itself except added to that bur- in the jungle). In flashbacks the actors, most in their late 60s, den are the after-effects of a global pandemic. Lee calls his home play opposite “Black Panther’s” Chadwick Boseman as Stormin’ city, where there have been over 17,000 deaths, “the epicenter.” Norman, their squad — but also political and spiritual — leader. “New York is coming back day by day,” he says. “The cases “We can The survivors have grown old, the memory of Norman has not. reported are going down slowly. The deaths are going down. learn from Events from decades ago still haunt and hurt. I want to give a special shout out to our governor, Governor history - if we Isiah Whitlock, Jr., Norm Lewis, Delroy Lindo, Clarke wake up.” Peters and Jonathan Majors in a scene from Spike Lee’s new film, “Da 5 Bloods.”
[Photo provided by Netflix] “Way back in 1989 with ‘Do The Right Thing’ I was asked this question: ‘Spike, do you have the answers to stop racism?’ And I said no. People are still asking that question today.” — Lee
Cuomo, who has shown great leadership here, which has been nized the campaign for independence but in the land of the free, absent in the White House.” vast portions of its people are trapped in cycles of poverty, their In another world, Lee would have been president himself, eat- potential restricted by their racial profile. Inequality was built in ing croissants on la Croisette, as the first Black head of the jury since the birth of the nation. Slavery’s shackles have become THANK YOU! in the Cannes Film Festival’s 73 years, where “Da 5 Bloods” was handcuffed wrists; iron collars now knees on necks. due to premiere out of competition. The only public screenings It is worth remembering that racism and discrimination in the TO ALL THOSE WHO SUPPORTED THE VIRTUAL were for groups of Black Vietnam veterans in New York. criminal justice system is not only an American problem. In the “They were laughing, crying, all those emotions, and after- UK, Black people are nine times more likely to be stopped and wards everyone gave me a hug. Said: ‘Spike, thank you for mak- searched for drugs. Sheku Bayoh, Rashan Charles, Darren Cum- ing this film.’ ” berbatch, Edson Da Costa, Nuno Cardoso and Sarah Reed are 2020 NSO GOOD SAMARITAN Born in 1957, the war in Vietnam and civil rights battles at among the names of those who have died after encounters with home coincided with Lee’s formative years. police. Many questions about their deaths remain unanswered. “I was young enough not to be drafted. But I was old enough to Lee continues: “Way back in 1989 with ‘Do The Right Thing’ AWARDS LUNCHEON think, what the hell is going on? Many people forget the Vietnam I was asked this question: ‘Spike, do you have the answers to War was the first war that was televised into American homes. It stop racism?’ And I said no. People are still asking that question had a great impact. This was something we talked about at din- today. ner. I’m seeing Muhammad Ali say, ‘No Vietcong ever called me “Racism is not any more just wanting to be able to sit down at NSO is thrilled to report that we were able to n-----’; I’m seeing John Carlos and Tommie Smith with their raised a counter and eat. There’s redlining, social inequality, lack of ed- Black fists. ucation. For example, here we are in the middle of the pandemic, meet our goal of $100,000 for 100 years! “You had the Vietnam War, the peace movement, the civil schools are closed. People of color have a greater chance of not rights movement, the Black power movement… Here’s the thing. having Wi-Fi in their home, have a greater chance of not having You have Black soldiers who are fighting the Vietnamese yet back computers. So how are children being taught?” home, Martin Luther King, who’s fighting for their rights, is assas- Lee points out that we’re still dealing with the legacy of the sinated.” Vietnam War that didn’t end with the fall of Saigon. “Even though Did you miss the program? You can still view the A scene in the film shows the bloods’ reaction to the King’s it’s 50 years ago, wars never go away, people are still mourning assassination, heard via the enemy on Radio Hanoi: “Black GI, their fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, relatives, friends that got video and give at nsookc.org/luncheon your government sends 600,000 troops to crush the rebellion. killed in Vietnam.” Your soul sisters and brothers are engaged in over 100 cities. Similarly, the impact of COVID-19 will last long after the pan- They kill them. Why you fight against us so far away from where demic passes for a generation who fell behind with their educa- THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS you’re needed?” tion or lost family members. The broadcast — which Lee adapted from real recordings — “You can say it lasts forever because people are always going states that Black soldiers have more in common with the Vietcong to mourn their loved ones. That does not go away,” Lee says. than their White commanders who send them to the other side But remembering connects us to history, reminds us of those of the world to fight and die for freedoms they do not have at who tried and died, 250 years ago or today, who believed a home. Stormin’ Norman convinces his bloods not to take revenge change could come, who we honor by believing change could against their White superiors. He warns them not to buy “the yet come. anti-commie KoolAid they selling” talks about racism: “Every time “When they find a vaccine, we can’t go back to what was,” I walk out my front door, see cops patrolling my neighborhood Lee concludes. “It has to be a whole new agenda. These vast like it’s some kind of police state, I can feel just how much I ain’t differences between the haves and have nots, these humongous worth,” and Black history. gaps, have to be closed.” Lee echoes this: “Since day one, Black people have been fight- Do you think they will be? ing for this country — that’s why we hear Chadwick Boseman’s “That’s my hope and dream.” character talk about Crispus Attucks, he’s not really known, not Meanwhile, police use tear gas to clear protesters outside the being taught in school, that’s why he’s in the movie — we’re still White House so Trump can pose for a photo op on the steps of a KEVIN AND LISA PUTT fighting for our own rights. We’re still fighting for this country church. Holding up a bible he says: “We have a great country, THE BENNETT FAMILY NSO BOARD MEMBER today.” greatest country in the world, we’ll make it even greater. It won’t “Da 5 Bloods” draws a link between the spark of American take long, it’s not going to take long.” revolution and contemporary fury. The Boston Massacre galva- Two hundred and fifty years and counting. TERRY AND SUSAN CARR MALCOM X DO THE RIGHT THING BLACKKKLANSMAN EDWIN D. CRANE, LLC
TODD AND STACEY NINNESS AARON CAPPS (405) 273-1600 DOUG AND ANGELA POWELL
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United Way of Central Oklahoma THANK YOU! TO ALL THOSE WHO SUPPORTED THE VIRTUAL 2020 NSO GOOD SAMARITAN AWARDS LUNCHEON NSO is thrilled to report that we were able to meet our goal of $100,000 for 100 years!
Did you miss the program? You can still view the video and give at nsookc.org/luncheon
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS
KEVIN AND LISA PUTT THE BENNETT FAMILY NSO BOARD MEMBER
TERRY AND SUSAN CARR EDWIN D. CRANE, LLC
TODD AND STACEY NINNESS AARON CAPPS (405) 273-1600 DOUG AND ANGELA POWELL
United Way of Central Oklahoma CURBSIDE CHRONICLE VENDOR ANITA
SHEPHERD SELF STORAGE 602-5300
HOW HOME MAKES ON THE MOVE ALL THE DIFFERENCE “Home gives you freedom. A freedom to not worry about the little things.” — Anita
For Anita, a new home felt like being in a darkroom > ON THE MOVE is our way where she’s slowly developing photos. of illustrating the impact of your support and the ultimate goal of this street paper, which is helping It wasn’t like digital photography where you can instantly see the people end their homelessness. results. She needed time to adjust. Anita still can’t quite put her finger This feature introduces readers on exactly why she had trouble believing she had her own place again. to recently-housed vendors and For years, she’d grown accustomed to bouncing between friends or welcomes you to see the difference living outside. Today, she appreciates the big picture. She loves her a home can make. apartment and has started embracing the little things.
Small details helped her grab focus and grow more comfortable. Just being able to lock her door, step onto green grass and plant some vegetables made an impact on Anita. It’s her spot now. She doesn’t have to worry about losing her belongings or overstaying her welcome. It feels like home, she said. Anita’s hope is that housing is just the first step toward building more momentum and to always be developing something new.
34 STORY AND PHOTO BY NATHAN POPPE SHEPHERD SELF STORAGE 602-5300
HOW HOME MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE
DON’T GIVE UP. JUST GIVE.
Some problems are simply too complicated. Too difficult. Too heartbreaking. That’s why the United Way of Central Oklahoma is here: to take on the problems others shy away from. When it’s too demanding, don’t give up. Instead, give.
United Way GIVE. ADVOCATE. VOLUNTEER. of Central Oklahoma We’re in the real estate business, and we know there are only a few times in your life you’ll need a Realtor®. In the meantime, we’re doing our small part to make Oklahoma City a better place and we hope you’ll join us for one of our community focused events.
You are invited to our weekly Tuesday morning coffee where we network, discuss our local real estate market and share happenings around OKC.
Participate in our monthly Homeowner Happy Hour. Bring your questions about home improvement projects and our favorite craftsmen and experts will troubleshoot with you.
Quarterly, the Verbode Urban Core Artist Events feature some of Oklahoma’s most collectible artists in our unique downtown gallery space.
At Verbode, we’re passionate about community and we welcome you to join ours.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook.
405.757.7001 verbodegroup.com View our current real estate listings at verbodegroup.com or call for @verbodegroup an in-person appointment (our favorite way) at 415 N. Broadway Ave. @verbode