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Senator Lankford issues a letter of apology to Black Tulsans

TULSA, Okla. — Oklahoma Senator James Lankford (R-OK) released a letter to Black Tulsans on Thursday, apologizing for offending them after his involvement in questioning the 2020 Presidential Election.

“I should have recognized how what I said and what I did could be interpreted by many of you,” Lankford wrote. “I deeply regret my blindness to that perception, and for that I am sorry.”

In the letter, Lankford admits his actions “caused a firestorm of suspicion among many of my friends, particularly in Black communities around the state.” Adding he was “completely blindsided, but I also found a blind spot.”

Lankford has a deep background with the African American community within Tulsa, particularly the historic Greenwood District.

He writes his decision to raise issues about the presidential election in several key states — most of them with large African American populations — hurt and angered many Tulsans, with some calling for him to resign or be removed from the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission.

Lankford asks for another chance in the letter, claiming to realize his actions were “seen as casting doubt on the validity of votes coming out of predominantly Black communities like Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Detroit.” He goes on, saying, “After decades of fighting for voting rights, many Black friends in Oklahoma saw this as a direct attack on their right to vote, for their vote to matter, and even a belief that their votes made an election in our country illegitimate.”

“I can assure you, my intent to give a voice to Oklahomans who had questions was never also an intent to diminish the voice of any Black American,” wrote Lankford.

You can read the full letter here.


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