Freedom Oklahoma celebrates 20 years with Platinum Gala

by Rob Howard
Associate Editor

“You’ve got the power: Vote!” Troy Stevenson, Executive Director of Freedom Oklahoma said those words, on the first LGBT themed billboard high over Oklahoma’s 39th Street gay district, were the kick-off of the Cimarron movement in Oklahoma City. Freedom Oklahoma was formed early this year in a merger of the Cimarron Alliance Foundation and The Equality Network (TEN). But its roots go back 20 years to when that billboard was installed in Oklahoma City. The billboard was recently uncovered, and Stevenson is hoping that it can be removed and be a center piece of their Platinum Anniversary Gala, October 23rd at the Skirvin Hilton Hotel in downtown Oklahoma City.

Stevenson recounted the history of the organization, starting with the formation of the Cimarron Alliance Group in 1995, the Cimarron Alliance Foundation a few years later, and the fight over LGBT History Month banners in Oklahoma City. TEN was formed in 2009 to fill a need for a major LGBT focus on the state legislature.

“We are trying to get as much of that history together as we can for the video presentation at the Gala event. We are planning to have as many of the past leaders participate in the gala and the video presentation.”

Stevenson said they are trying to focus on “A lot more dancing, and a lot less talking” at the event, but it will include a great dinner, the live auction of a piece of artwork which has been bought at various charity events over the years by Randy Tate and Jim Roth, and has a history of raising thousands for organizations, a silent auction and a high end raffle for a trip to Machu Picchu. The event will have live entertainment with Squad Live, a band, and later a DJ for dancing into the night.

Stevenson said the event will celebrate the organization’s victories over the years. Two of the major events for Cimarron were putting the organization together when they did, and keeping it together through 20 years. He recited some of the victories, including the battling  the city on the ban on LGBT banners on city light poles, the 2005 Holocaust Remembrance Exhibition, the election of Jim Roth, and the anti-bullying Safe Schools education programs that were in place for several years. “But the biggest victory,” he said, “was that they have sustained for 20 years. You don’t find many organizations that 20 years later still have a lot of the original founders as involved as they still are.”

The Equality Network (TEN) was formed in 2009 “because there was no Equality Federation organization in Oklahoma, no 501(c)4 political organization in the state. While Cimarron had started as a PAC they later formed the Foundation and let the PAC go to the wayside. In Tulsa, Oklahomans for Equality had no 501(c)4 arm, and no PAC ability. So, there was a group of folks from Oklahoma City and Tulsa who decided that Oklahoma needed a political arm of the LGBT rights movement, and they formed a 501(c)4 political organization. Its mission from the beginning was always a micro-focus on the legislature, and leadership training for college students.”

Freedom Oklahoma is “obviously continuing to focus on the legislature,” Stevenson said, “but we are bringing back the Safe-Schools conference, originally called Stop Hate in the Hallways. Cimarron also used to do a Leadership Summit, that’s where the idea for the College Leadership Conference came from at TEN, because Cimarron had stopped doing the summit meetings.”

Looking to the future, he said, “We hope to continue with the college summit, restart the anti-bullying conference, and are looking at a third conference that would be broader based for the community as a whole. We are talking to experts in mental health and health to craft a program that would actually attract people to it.”

“The College Summit is one of our best events every year. We get 150 to 200 college students attending each year’s event. This year the Summit is in April at the University of Oklahoma. We are planning the anti-bullying conference for September of 2016, at Oklahoma State University. And that’s going to be predominantly focused on teachers of high school age and younger students.”

Other activity on the horizon is a proactive legislative effort to ban conversion therapy. Stevenson said, “many legislators, from both parties, have come to me and said ‘We have to do something about this. It’s torture, it’s abuse.’” In addition, he noted there are 20 open seats due to term limits in the legislature, and “we’re going to seek candidates who are committed to equality.”

Honorees at this year’s Gala are Robin Lemon Sellers, Lifetime Achievement Award; Dr. Laura Arrowsmith, a transgender activist, Torch Award; Joe Sangirardi, a recent graduate of OU and founder of the OU LGBT Alumni organization; Volunteer of the Year, Sheri Dickerson, who Stevenson described as a whirlwind of activity, even though she had serious health problems; Legislators of the Year, Rep. Emily Virgin, a Democrat, and Lee Denney, the Republican Speaker Pro-Tem of the House; and Ally of the Year, Rev. Lori Walke, Associate Minister at Oklahoma City’s Mayflower Congregational UCC.

Stevenson concluded by noting that for the first time the organization is getting corporate sponsors for the annual gala. This year’s sponsors include attorney Bob Lemon, Scott Wilson, attorney Mark Henricksen, Billy Sims BBQ, Premium Beers CEO John Cresap, Cliff Hudson, CEO of Sonic, the Dell Pride Employees group, and The Gayly.

Tickets and sponsorship information for the Freedom Oklahoma Gala can be purchased at www.FreedomOklahoma.org.

The Gayly – October 3, 2015 @ 12pm.