In February 2006, during a TNT interview with Chris Paul (Hornets), Charles Barkley stated that Oklahoma was a “vast wasteland” and “no place for black people.” Well, was he wrong?
Recently, Barkley visited the “vast wasteland” and supposedly had a change of heart, which is quite surprising, considering the people who gave him the grand tour made no effort to introduce him to the many accomplished African Americans who reside in Oklahoma. There was zero percent effort made to debunk his comment about black people, but a huge effort put forth to prove Oklahoma has a few attractions. Not only were the tourist white, but a large majority (minus his body guards) of the people who surrounded him were white.
I ask again, was the statement Barkly made six years ago wrong? Are the only brothers in town loved and acknowledged by white Oklahoma, those who can dance on the court and bring in lots of money? My response is no, he wasn’t wrong and yes the Thunder brothers are the only black folks to receive love.
Governor Mary Fallin and her minions proved this fact when they snubbed President Barack Obama during his recent Oklahoma visit. Fallin refused to greet the President and dogged him publicly after his visit. However, she was excited about the publicity and dollars that Barkley’s appearance would bring to Oklahoma. Go figure!
So, what’s the overall point? Oklahoma may not be the best place for black folks, but Black Oklahoman’s sure love our THUNDER and if you look really hard, you’ll see a couple sprinkles of pepper in the crowd screaming THUUUUNDER UP!
By LaTonia Moore with The Black Oklahoman
www.BlackOklahoman.com
Very interesting, piece, I noticed that in Miami the news did interviews with people from Oaklohma , I believe there were two black people. One was a child maybe 12 years old and the other was on an adult male. I
Comments are closed.