Race panel speaker: OU games celebrate white supremacy – Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs

Race panel speaker: OU games celebrate white supremacy

Ray Carter

During a recent program touted as a “conversation about race and race relations in Oklahoma,” one featured panelist declared that football games at the University of Oklahoma involve repeated “celebration of white supremacy.”

“The University of Oklahoma, their mascot or their whole thing is the ‘Sooners,’” said Sarah Gray, director of movement building and organizing at IllumiNative. “So, what is the Sooners, the Sooner State, or what is the Sooner State? Like, you went and you did the Land Run and you stole land from Native people. And so every single time that OU scores a touchdown, you see the Sooner Schooner take off across the field, it’s a celebration of white supremacy. And everybody’s out there, they’re so excited.”

Gray’s comment was one of several offered during a panel discussion on “advocacy” during the March session of Advancing Oklahoma, which is described as “a lengthy conversation about race and race relations in Oklahoma.