ACLU CO-SPONSORS SCREENING
OF FILM ABOUT TULSA RACE RIOT

The ACLU of Oklahoma recently partnered with Dreamer Concepts Studio and Foundation (DCSF) to present a film event that focused on the 1921 Tulsa Race Riot. More than 50 people gathered at 524 E. Main Street in Norman on the evening of July 21, 2007 to view a screening of There is No Such Thing as Colorblind in a Racist World.  Noted Tulsa author Hannibal B. Johnson, who authored a book on the Tulsa Race Riot, spoke to the crowd before the film began. The event ended with a question and answer session featuring Johnson and the four Norman High School students who produced the film. 

The short documentary about the Tulsa Race Riot, There is No Such Thing as Colorblind in a Racist World, was created by Hannah Foster, Philip Parrish, Colleen Parrish, and Morgan Rohring for National History Day.  The goal of the filmmakers was to increase awareness about the violence of racism and show that prejudice has a personal and ongoing history. The filmmakers won first place at National History Day Regional and State levels. These honors earned them the opportunity to participate in the national contest in Washington D.C.

The guest speaker for the night, Tulsa lawyer Hannibal B. Johnson, authored Black Wall Street--From Riot to Renaissance in Tulsa’s Historic Greenwood District, which debuted in 1998. His children’s book, Up From the Ashes—A Story About Community, was published in 1999. His third book, Acres of Aspiration—The All-Black Towns in Oklahoma, was released in January 2002. Johnson’s fourth book, Mama Used To Say—Wit & Wisdom From The Heart & Soul was published in 2003.

Johnson is a graduate of Harvard. He has served as an adjunct professor at the University of Tulsa College of Law, Oklahoma State University, and the University of Oklahoma. He is the past president of Leadership Tulsa, past president of the Metropolitan Tulsa Urban League and past president of the Northeast Oklahoma Black Lawyers Association. 

Peter Cahn, an ACLU board member from Norman, represented the affiliate at the lecture and screening. He distributed literature to interested people at the event.

“Everyone in the audience learned something new about the riots. The film and Mr. Johnson's talk overlapped a little, but that served to reinforce the key points,” said Cahn.

Other sponsors for the event were the Northeastern Oklahoma Black Lawyers Association, the Greenwood Cultural Community Center, the Montford Inn and Louie’s. Several members of the audience expressed interest in the ACLU’s activities.