It's time to dust off your "Zero Days Since Oklahoma Was A National Embarrassment" graphic.
In case you missed it, Larry Long, a beloved, recently retired agriculture teacher from Elk City (pictured to the far right), was honored at a conference in Oklahoma City for 49 years of service last week. He celebrated the occasion like any good rural Okie would – by presenting a black teacher with a white robe and Confederate flag.
Via NewsOK.com:
A retired agriculture teacher from Elk City presented a black teacher with a white robe and Confederate flag at a state CareerTech conference in Oklahoma City last week, an incident that has drawn rebuke from lawmakers and an investigation by the state agency overseeing Oklahoma's CareerTech program.
The incident took place during the annual Oklahoma Career and Technology Education Summer Conference at the Cox Convention Center on Aug. 2.
Larry Long was being recognized for nearly 49 years of agriculture teaching during one of the conference's sessions. Long called a black colleague to join him upfront and presented him with the robe and flag.
Several people with knowledge of the situation said it appeared Long knew the black teacher and presented the robe and flag in an attempt to make a joke.
LULZ! I don't care if you're a politically correct liberal or a racist Trump supporter, that's some funny stuff! According to a Mole, the joke started by Long saying that he heard the teacher had applied for the KKK and was rejected, and got him the robe and flag to comfort him. I'm sure the crowd was roaring in laughter at that point, and not just sitting there in stunned, uncomfortable silence, hoping and praying that they weren't being recorded on camera.
Seriously, what the hell was this guy thinking?! Whether you're an unabashed racist OU frat boy or a good-hearted yet extremely naive redneck who's socially tone-deaf to the plight and struggle of black Americans in this country and the racism they still experience on a daily basis, how could anyone think that giving a black colleague a white robe and confederate flag at a state-sponsored education conference is a good idea? Thank god he left his Nazi arm patch at the dry cleaners or this could have gotten really ugly.
For some reason, The Oklahoma Legislative Black Caucus was not happy with Long's attempt at good-natured racist humor that will probably haunt him for the rest of his life. Here's are more details via NewsOK.com...
“We cannot allow this type of incident to take place under the authority of a state-funded entity,” said Sen. Kevin Matthews, chairman of the Black Caucus. “As we gain the facts in the past 24 hours, we immediately began dialogue with the director of the CareerTech.”
The board of Elk City Public Schools recently voted to rename the school's agriculture building after Long, according to minutes from a May board meeting. Matthews, D-Tulsa, said he would discuss the matter with the Black Caucus to determine if the group wanted to ask the school to no longer name the building after Long.
The Oklahoma Career-Tech agency, which hosted last week's conference and oversees CareerTech schools across the state, said it was investigating the matter and would establish a diversity training program for teachers...
Long was listed last year as an agriculture teacher at Elk City High School in the state CareerTech directory. He is a recipient of the National Association of Agriculture Educator's outstanding service award and is a former teacher of the year in Elk City.
People with knowledge of the situation said Long and the black teacher have been friends for several years.
Yep, he's been friends with the black teacher for several years! Thanks for that tidbit of information, The Oklahoman. I consulted with my black friends, and that makes Long's jokes totally okay and justifiable.
Anyway, I've been talking to some Moles who know people who were at this event, and we may have some more info and details coming soon regarding Career Tech's attempt at a possible cover up. We'll share that info when / if it comes our way.
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