Oklahoma bill granting immunity to drivers fleeing riots heads to Gov Kevin Stitt s desk msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Oklahoma Legislature OKs bill to crack down on protesters
SEAN MURPHY, The Associated Press
April 14, 2021
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FILE - In this May 31, 2020, file photo, protesters surround a truck shortly before it drove through the group injuring several on Interstate 244 in Tulsa, Okla. A Republican-backed bill aimed at cracking down on protests by increasing penalties for blocking roadways and granting immunity to motorists who kill or injure rioters received final legislative approval on Wednesday, April 14, 2021 in Oklahoma City. (Mike Simons/Tulsa World via AP)Mike Simons/AP
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) A Republican-backed bill aimed at cracking down on protests by increasing penalties for blocking roadways and granting immunity to motorists who kill or injure rioters received final legislative approval on Wednesday.
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Lessie Benningfield Randle was just 6 when she watched her home town go up in flames. Now at 106, her testimony may make way for reparations to be paid.
On May 31, 1921, an angry mob of white Tulsans stormed the prosperous Greenwood District in Tulsa, Oklahoma. After the massacre, the people of Greenwood rebuilt the town without any financial assistance from the City of Tulsa.
Randle, known as âMother Randleâ to the Justice for Greenwood Foundation â a group that advocates for reparations to be paid to the massacre survivors and descendants â stated in the February lawsuit that the events of the massacre have caused her to experience âemotional and physical distress that continues to this day.â The lawsuit also states that Tulsa government officials are âenriching themselves by promoting the site of the massacre as a tourist attraction.â
OUâs three-day symposium commemorating the centennial of the Tulsa Race Massacre, titled âReflecting on the Past, Facing the Future,â began with an opening ceremony at noon Thursday.
OU President Joseph Harroz, Vice President of the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Belinda Higgs Hyppolite, and Oklahoma Humanities Executive Director Caroline Lowery all spoke during the opening ceremony to explain the importance of remembering and reflecting on the causes and long-term effects of racial violence during the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921.
The massacre remains one of the single deadliest events of racist violence in U.S. history, with death tolls ranging from 100 to 300 people. Undiscovered mass graves from the event are still expected to remain around the city, with one potential site identified by archaeologists estimated to have around 30 individuals interred.
What to Do in Tulsa, Oklahoma afar.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from afar.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.