Weekly Wrap, Dec. 11-15

We're pro-structural racism and pro-corporate handouts in Oklahoma this week

First- Oklahoma City voters passed a measure Tuesday to build yet another new arena, in hopes of keeping the Thunder professional basketball team in the city.

That news was quickly eclipsed by Gov. Kevin Stitt’s executive order on Wednesday that has been widely panned, except by the far right which claims the EO is a victory against the reverse discrimination suffered by white people.

I want to be careful how I characterize the executive order. Many have come out and said it “bans” or “eliminates” diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and services in Oklahoma state agencies, particularly higher education.

That’s not my read on the EO. He says these programs will be reviewed, state dollars should not support them, *but* (and this is the big rub here) any programs required to maintain compliance (with federal regulations) and accreditation are out of bounds. There’s a lot of throat clearing at the beginning of the EO about discrimination, but once you read below the fold, it quickly grows lukewarm.

To be clear, this EO will cause great harm- to the people of this state who have legitimately suffered racism, marginalization, and resulting discrimination borne out in our laws, processes, practices, and procedures that systematically exclude them from full, equitable participation in our state.

We recognize this harm to these communities because of DEI provisions, programs, and services, and it is only through DEI programs and services are steps made to rectify these injustices.

The EO outlines specific groups whose programs and services should not be impacted by the order, namely, veterans, first-generation college students, students will extraordinary abilities, etc. And it explicitly protects academic freedom and speech and the ability to apply for grants and funding in these areas.

In other words, anything with federal money attached to it cannot be implicated. Actual state dollars funding DEI programs and services must be “reviewed.”

So what does this EO actually do?

I’m no lawyer, but here’s my two cents: the EO is a platform that Stitt hopes turns into national hits on Fox, OAN, and other bottom-feeding media shows. It’s his move in proximity to a presidential election to increase his cultural capital with whomever the Republican nominee for president it.

The EO says agencies must supply a report to the governor’s office and the legislature certifying compliance by the end of May, and anyone *not in compliance* will be reported to…State Superintendent of Instruction, Certified Right-Wing Front Seat Culture Warrior, and the Great Usurper of Stitt’s Singular Limelight Wreckin’ Ball Ryan Walters. Just in time for the final stretch ahead of the general election in September 2024.

Now, a relative basket of deplorables (Standridge, Humphries, and other OCPA ilk) has released a statement saying they have/will file legislation writing into law a ban on DEI.

My prediction? These laws may pass. They will actually hurt because they will be statute. We should raise hell and contact our legislators to keep these bills from passing in the spring.

Because if they pass, we will watch as every major corporation continues to drive right on down (or up) I-35 to greener pastures as our high school graduates do the same.