Oklahoma restricted how race can be taught. So these Black teachers stepped up

TULSA, Okla. — The schoolchildren arrived at the community center's cafeteria on a Saturday morning, their parents in tow. Some adults came without children, because they, too, wanted to learn the African American history that a new law has made many Oklahoma schoolteachers too afraid to teach.

Kristi Williams, a leader and activist in Tulsa's Black community, led them in the pledge they recite each time they gather for a day of lessons.

"We will remember the humanity, glory and suffering of our ancestors," they said in unison, "and honor the struggle of our elders."

Williams started offering these lessons early this year, after the state law — adopted by Republican legislators in 2021 — placed restrictions on how race and gender can be taught in Oklahoma's public schools.

The law has had a chilling effect on teachers who now fear that touching on