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Q&A with Risa Forrester

During the week of March 4-8, 2019, Oklahoma Christian University honored and apologized to 18 former students whose lives were derailed 50 years prior. On March 6, 1969, students participated in a non-violent demonstration initially meant to only be a conversation with then-president James O. Baird. The students were seen as participating in a protest, which violated school rules and were arrested, as well as expelled from the institution.

The Talon sat down with Risa Forrester, Oklahoma Christian University’s chief communications officer, who was directly involved in the creation of the event.

Q: What prompted President deSteiguer to get this event started?

“The sit-in event, or whatever you choose to call it, that happened 50 years ago, is a story that many in our community had heard to some extent. So over the years, I am sure many of us were aware of it, and it really sort of jumped up on the president’s radar about two years ago, when Dr. Harold Fletcher passed away. Dr. Fletcher was someone who was an advocate for students of color on our campus back during those early days. He was the first full-time professor ever hired at then-Central Christian College. At his funeral, President deSteiguer had the opportunity to meet Ron Wright, who was one of the former students who participated in the sit-in. Ron and the president had a conversation, and that is what sort of elevated this event, for the president in particular. That is when we really began to talk about it, to do more in-depth study around the event to really determine what happened and what was the best way to move forward.”

Q: What role did you specifically play in the making and execution of the event?

“I, in many ways, acted as an advisor to the president. I helped with a lot of the background work in terms of pulling information together about what happened. I assisted him with crafting the events, and then helping our marketing and communications team execute event invitations, and then coordinating and following up with press following the event.”

Q: Were there any issues that came up when getting things together?

“Probably the thing that was most difficult on the front end was trying to find the former student participants. As you may have heard, some of them haven’t been back to school in 50 years, and so the address records and location records were very outdated and incorrect, so we had difficulty finding them. Apparently with Donald Wilson, who came down to be with us for the event, we had his address incorrect, but it was just close enough that it made it to him anyway. And since the event, with the outreach we did on social media surrounding it, there were two participants that we hadn’t found formerly that we now found. It’s been nice since then to get in touch with those individuals, but unfortunately, especially for the women who participated, we only had maiden names and not married names, so it was very difficult to find them.”

Q: When you reached out, what was said to convince them to re-live such a traumatic event?

“The president sent them an invitation, humbly acknowledging this was something in the university’s history from 50 years ago we wanted to remember and made it clear we wanted to honor the courage they displayed for standing up for their principles. The question we led with at the Q&A was, “What did you think when you got the letter in the mail?” I think the fact it was sent from the president in a very humble way, letting them know we wanted to remember and celebrate their courage, was huge.”

Q: What was it like in the first moments when everyone got back together?

“So, that was really interesting. They came in at different times over the course of a couple of days, but it was fascinating because some of them were certainly friends or acquaintances when they were here at OC, but others didn’t seem to have much in common by way of friendship or acquaintances besides this event, which was kind of interesting. My first time seeing them interact was at lunch.”

Q: How could you see the attitudes of the participants change, as there were possible feelings of resentment and anger as they first arrived back to campus?

“I’m not sure it’s my place to speak to how they felt, but I can tell you what I witnessed. They all came in very kind, very humble, and were just really kind to us despite what had happened to them here. I really appreciated that. Each was willing to share, willing to tell their story. It was gratifying to see some who explained how grateful they were that the university was honoring, remembering and overtly apologizing to them. I just can’t stress enough how loving and kind the group was in how they treated us.”

Q: Overall, how do you believe the event helps OC grow as a campus today?

“I just think remembering the past is so important. There’s this old saying, ‘Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it,’ and I think there’s some truth to that. I’m learning more and more how important it is for institutions to remember and apologize when they’re wrong. And for some people, that may be uncomfortable because someone might say, ‘I wasn’t in the position to make that decision back then,’ but I still think it’s important for institutions to acknowledge wrongs like racism. We’re not going to impact and effect real change until we break down the systematic racism that is built into our country from long, long ago.”

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