Councilmembers: Despite state's initial efforts, Black leaders are helping OKC communities grow

Before America’s 1965 Voting Rights Act, Oklahoma City’s Black residents couldn’t vote, specifically due to the threat of violence from the Ku Klux Klan for attempting to cast a ballot and because of discriminatory voting practices based on race.

With an overwhelming majority, in fact, Oklahoma’s first Legislature prioritized segregation, passing Senate Bill 1. With this legislation, “streetcars, schools, bathrooms, swimming pools, parks, restaurants — all of Oklahoma’s public spaces became strictly divided by race,” "Boom Town" author Sam Anderson explains in his best-selling book on OKC’s history.

“Interracial marriage was outlawed,” Anderson reminds us. “Literacy tests were imposed on Black voters; white voters were exempted by a brazen 'grandfather clause,' which excluded anyone whose grandfather had been eligible to vote before January 1866 — a date, of course, before Black citizens were allowed to vote.”

Fast-forward to 2024.

We, as Oklahoma City councilors ― Ward 7 Councilwoman Nikki Nice, OKC’s second Black woman to serve on the city council, and Ward 2 Councilperson James Cooper, OKC’s first biracial Black or Black councilmember elected outside of Ward 7 — represent the only moment in OKC history when two Black or biracial Black councilors have served at the same time on the city council.

Although Oklahoma’s first Legislature prioritized dividing us based on race — and too many in today’s Legislature prioritize banning books and pride flags — a majority of present-day voters prioritize working together to improve pedestrian safety, public transportation and connecting unhoused neighbors to housing, stability and community support services, specifically via OKC’s new street outreach teams comprised of case managers and mental health professionals.

We’re working to implement a council-approved alternative response to 911 mental health calls and, recently, the Oklahoma City Council approved a first-of-its-kind Community Benefits Agreement authored as part of OKC’s new arena proposal, focusing on quality jobs for our most vulnerable residents.

As Ward 2’s councilor, representing a ward where earlier laws prevented Black people from homeownership, I (James Cooper) was involved in managing 2017’s Better Streets, Safer City infrastructure improvements and helping craft MAPS 4’s $1.1 billion investment in OKC’s people, parks and places. This effort includes NW Bus Rapid Transit service, Paseo Arts District’s $4 million streetscape, MAPS 4’s upcoming youth centers, and historic Britton District’s forthcoming streetscape — where Ward 2 meets Ward 7.

Getting a grocery store and preserving our historically Black spaces are among hard-fought accomplishments for northeast Oklahoma City.

And as Ward 7’s councilwoman, I (Nikki Nice) take pride in helping to preserve those historically Black spaces, such as the Lyons/Luster Mansion, the Brockway Center and assisting with efforts to preserve the Jewel Theater, while honoring our roots within the Deep Deuce area of our city. With community assistance, $100 million will be invested through MAPS 4 in NE Oklahoma City.

It's been an honor to guide implementation of the Willa D. Johnson Recreation Center, named after the first Black councilwoman. It's the first community center built in the area in 40 years. Working with our seniors also helped to ensure a beautiful senior wellness center in the northeast community, through the MAPS 3 program, where membership continues to grow with over 950 members since opening in December.

And there's so much more that we've done in the last five years to enhance the image and quality of life for our communities.

During the Great Depression, an Oklahoma governor told legislators, “We must provide the means for the advancement of the negro race and accept him as God gave him to us and use him for the good of society. As a rule, they are failures as lawyers, doctors and in other professions. He must be taught in the line of his own sphere, as porters, bootblacks, and barbers.”

We write this joint editorial during Black History Month as repudiation of such hateful words — as repairers of a breach begun when Oklahoma’s Senate Bill 1 denied access to the ballot box and electoral office.

In the spirit of all who call this place home, we work toward the revitalization of OKC’s neighborhoods and renewal of our state’s capital city.

James Cooper represents Ward 2 and Nikki Nice is the councilwoman for Ward 7.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: James Cooper, Nikki Nice 'repairing the breach' begun with Oklahoma SB 1