A racist social media post from south-central Oklahoma is drawing nationwide scrutiny. KWGS’ Elizabeth Caldwell sat down with KWGS’ Zach Boblitt to discuss the post and the community’s reaction. Listen above to their conversation or read the transcript below.
TRANSCRIPT:
ZACH BOBLITT: Hi Elizabeth.
ELIZABETH CALDWELL: Hi Zach.
ZB: So the picture is of six young men displaying cutout letters on their shirts, and the letters spell out a racial slur. What else can you tell us?
EC: The young men in question are students at Tishomingo High School. The letters were part of a spirit week activity, sort of a Scrabble game. Students were randomly given these cutout letters to wear and were expected to group up with other students to spell words. The group with the highest scoring word would win. It was supposed to be some fun leading up to the annual homecoming football game.
ZB: But that game is canceled now, isn’t it?
EC: Yes, on Thursday evening Superintendent Brandon Moreland put out a statement saying a parade and the homecoming game were canceled due to safety concerns. It’s extra disappointing for the community because they have new facilities. Tishomingo passed a nearly $25 million bond in 2021 to update the schools. Details around what threats might have been made are unclear, Tishomingo Public Schools didn’t respond to phone calls.
ZB: You were in Tishomingo speaking to people at places like Murray State College. What did people have to say?
EC: The majority of people said they weren’t familiar with the post. When I offered to show them the photo, they all declined. People who were familiar with the post were also not eager to talk. There’s a real distrust of the media in the community. There’s disappointment that reporters don’t live in or aren’t visiting the community. A woman named Wanda Gray was one of the few people who would speak to me. This is what she said when I asked her why people there don’t trust reporters:
WANDA GRAY: Because they twist things around.
EC: Gray has lived in the area her whole life and she said the Tishomingo she knows is not racist.
WG: I’m sad, I’m disgusted, I’m frustrated. Because the actions of six kids does not define our community, it’s not who we are.
ZB: You did speak to the publisher of the only paper in the area, the Johnston County Sentinel.
EC: Yeah, Tom Lokey said he’s lived around Tishomingo most of his life, he’s been publishing the Sentinel for seven and a half years, and this is the only racist incident he said he can recall. I asked him if he thinks it’s related to the heightened rhetoric around the upcoming election.
TOM LOKEY: I don’t think so, I think it was a stupid decision made by a few students that because of social media today has been blown up.
ZB: What else did he tell you?
EC: He repeated what I heard from Wanda Gray, that what happened was not representative of the community. He did express some concerns about the deliberateness of the photo. The kids in it had to organize themselves, and he said as many as 12 students could be involved. He said the Sentinel is going to publish something next week.
TL: Well, we’re a weekly, and we're a week away from publication right now, so we will take the long view on this, and we will address it appropriately at our publication at that time.
ZB: As for other information and statements, the school district put out several statements disavowing racism. State Superintendent Ryan Walters put out a similar statement. Rep. Jason Lowe put out a statement, but Tishomingo is not in his district. It’s House Speaker Charles McCall’s district. Has he said anything?
EC: Not yet. But we’ll keep you updated.
ZB: Thanks Elizabeth.
EC: Thanks Zach.
