This year, Black History Month follows a time remarkable for both racial progress and aggressive adversity. On one hand, we are seeing unprecedented numbers of white people trying to understand their black friends’ and loved ones’ experiences, on the other, that the abominable underbelly of white supremacism is alive and well.
When I contacted Vice-Mayor Carla Gunn this week to ask her what BHM means to her as a black woman and as Sapulpa’s first black Vice-Mayor, I expected her usual optimism and eloquence. Which is exactly what I got, along with a big dose of reality.
“There are so many things I feel like are moving us backward when we should be moving forward right now,” she stated. “But for me, this is definitely a time to celebrate the people who have paved the way for [African Americans]. So I try to continue to remember that and to continue to walk in their footsteps. So many things have been done in the past that have moved us forward,” Gunn says. She hopes to use her platform as Vice-Mayor to “be a part of the change, whether it’s about systemic racism or whatever else is going on at the time.”
She said that “this year is really a challenging year for me, as a black woman, as an African American. It’s really challenging, but the positive side is seeing Kamala Harris become Vice President. The hope is that we’ll start seeing people come together. This needs to be a time of healing. I’ve never seen so many black people this disappointed in what is going on in the world.”
The important thing, according to Gunn, is that “we have got to keep pushing forward, because our great leaders are passing away—and we want to be able to continue carrying that torch, but it’s been a tough few years. So BHM can feel like less of a celebration than it should.”
“This year and for the past few years, I feel like BHM really shows how far we have stepped backward. So that makes it somewhat sad. This year I’ve thought a lot about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. when I hear about peaceful protesting. But we’ve had so much rioting, and I just feel disappointed that we can have a modern day lynching [such as George Floyd’s neck being knelt on until he eventually died from asphxyation] and people can still say ‘He should have done this, he should have done that.’ Right now with what’s going on I’m just trying to keep moving forward and to keep being inspired by the ones who led the way.”
She related how she “had this moment of clarity, that some people want to silence [black people]. It goes back to our history—this is why they didn’t want slaves to know how to read or write, so they wouldn’t have a voice. They want your voice muted. And they’ll use fear or whatever they need to do to quiet you. It made me think about the Dr. King marches where people got sprayed and killed and beaten. So I know I can take some heat and keep trying to set an example and have a voice.”
“My message is always to come together,” says Gunn. “We are one town, not the white side or the black side.” We are going through “an awakening” right now, along with all the disappointing or negative things happening. “People are starting to look at Tulsa’s history and Sapulpa’s Booker T. Washington—a lot of people don’t know all of the history. The Tulsa Race Riot is being brought to light now, for example. We have some work to do on black history and knowing and understanding” more about it.
Gunn concluded that “the upside is it made me feel inspired when I watched the inauguration, to see Vice President Kamala Harris, to watch Amanda Gorman—it felt like a breath of fresh air, to see a young black girl bring all of this together in words, and that was encouraging. All you can do is have moments where you are influenced by other people’s will to continue to bring folks together.”
