In the past month, five people have asked about what I thought were the most pressing problems Tulsans face.
It’s a big question that has my mind spinning with answers. After 27 years of writing about Tulsa and Oklahoma issues, there isn’t a single or easy response.
Everything is connected.
Reducing the crime rate starts with an equal, equitable and quality education. That requires students to arrive healthy, well-nourished and from homes with little to no dysfunction.
To do that, parents need to have consistent employment with a living wage and health benefits with mental health parity. They need flexible schedules. Affordable child care and after-school programs are needed as work supports.
Transportation is a must in middle America, and internet access is no longer a luxury in an economy relying more on digital communication. Residents need ways to exercise and get regular health checkups.
People are also reading…
That’s not reality.
Oklahoma continues to face high rates of incarceration, teenage births, serious mental health diagnoses, physical inactivity, obesity, youth suicide and food insecurity.
Social nets to catch people when they are down are sometimes full of holes. In some cases, public investment goes down, putting more pressure on philanthropic generosity.
To focus on one problem doesn’t address the whole. All these things affect one another.
But within each area, divides exist. There are trends and patterns that can help lead the way.
Some divisions fall between the rich and poor.
Higher-income Oklahoma high schools receive School Report Card scores 2.5 times higher than lower-income schools.
The average CEO salary is 299 times higher than what the average American worker makes.
Some divisions appear along race or ethnic lines.
Tulsa homes in majority Black neighborhoods are valued at 40% less than those where less than 1% of residents are Black — a difference of $23,388.
Indigenous youths in Tulsa are twice as likely to experience homelessness. White Tulsans are 2.5 times more likely to be in high-wage jobs than Hispanic residents.
Some differences show up between gender.
In Tulsa, men are 75% more likely than women to be business executives. Oklahoma working women earn 77% of what their male counterparts are paid.
Women make up only 21% of the Oklahoma Legislature. Oklahoma has led the nation in female incarceration for at least 25 years.
Those are measurable outcomes. The gaps are based in facts and statistics.
More difficult are the philosophical differences turning Americans aggressively against one another.
The U.S. has always been a stew of opposing ideas and beliefs. Strength comes from figuring out how to make seemingly incompatible thoughts into working relationships.
It’s easy to ignore something; that’s the weak way out.
Famous media personalities and ambitious politicians ramp up the differences to their advantage, the attention making for profitable entertainment and increased power. But it’s harmful and unproductive to keep widening the polarization.
This past week, I accepted the position of editorial editor, replacing my longtime boss, colleague and friend Wayne Greene. For 27 years, he encouraged me to explore these challenges.
That’s a big part of what journalism is supposed to do: point out problems and seek answers and solutions.
The Opinion pages host differing thoughts rooted in meaningful dialogue. This space has higher standards than the anonymity and meanness flourishing on social media and cable news programs.
Readers will wonder if the change means shifting more liberal or conservative. I do not plan for that to happen, in either direction.
Our Editorial Board seeks consistency and progress in determining positions, columns are chosen to reflect different perspectives, and letters meeting basic guidelines are published.
My interests are in local and state issues. Those affect us more and get little attention.
The existing divides didn’t start as unavoidable schisms. They crept up unnoticed.
We need spaces for people to air their viewpoints and experiences in thoughtful and respectful ways. We cannot move forward if we dismiss or ignore each other.
That’s why these growing divides are the most pressing issues we face. That’s where the Opinion pages have worth as a meeting place.
Featured video:
Editorial columnist Ginnie Graham explains how students will dictate the spread of COVID-19 this fall.
Breaking the Cycle: The Tulsa World's 8-day series on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
Oklahoma ranks high for several social ills that have been linked to Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) scores. A few examples:
No. 1 in female incarceration rates
No. 1 in the nation in incarceration rates when other factors such as the juvenile and jail populations are included, according to a 2018 study by the nonprofit organization Prison Policy Initiative.
No. 1 in heart-disease mortality
No. 2 in male incarceration rates
No. 3 in divorce with 13.1% of the state population reporting at least one marriage as ending in that manner, according to U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey statistics for 2013-17.
No. 5 in cancer deaths per capita, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
No. 5 in teen smoking with an estimated 12.5% of teens, according to CDC data.
No. 9 per capita in substantiated child abuse cases, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
What is your ACE score and what does it mean? Understanding the consequences of childhood trauma
Adverse Childhood Experiences — ACEs — are linked to a wide range of physical and psychological problems, from obesity and drug addiction to cancer rates and domestic violence.
Your ACE score starts with a simple test listing 10 of the most common adverse childhood experiences. A single point is scored for each one a person has suffered. Even a score of 2 or 3 can increase a person's risk of facing a lifetime of issues. Take the test.
Part 1: The science is well established and should come as no surprise
Children who suffer rough childhoods have a greater likelihood of being adversely affected later in life. By Curtis Killman
'I've been there. I know.' Oklahoma's children top the nation in trauma suffered, and one survivor is doing his part to stop it
Theron Ogedengbe was 9 years old when he entered the foster care system. After aging out, he found Youth Services of Tulsa. Now 27, “I’m going to be the kind of therapist I wish I had had,” he says. By Michael Overall
Part 2: Soda, cigarettes and trauma: How Adverse Childhood Experiences alter brain chemistry, cultivate unhealthy habits and prompt premature death
Oklahoma is No. 1 in the nation in youth up to age 17 who have experienced two or more ACEs. And Tulsa is at the forefront of revolutionary research to unlock a deeper knowledge of how social, behavioral, physical and environmental factors may affect brain development and health. By Corey Jones
An adult to trust. Tulsa grief therapist Jessica Orvis turns child counseling into art form
Jessica Orvis is telling you about her work with children, her efforts to blunt their trauma, when you notice her tattoos. Is she making a statement? By Guerin Emig
Part 3: 'All I ever knew.' Drugs. Alcohol. Jail. Oklahoma's children repeat the patterns of their parents
Tara Peterson never knew a life other than one filled with drugs and alcohol. Her parents abused them. She did too. With a jail sentence looming, and her own daughter growing up the same way she did, the cycle seemed destined to repeat itself. Then came Women in Recovery. By Michael Overall
She was always there. A court-appointed child advocate forms 20-year bond with two sisters
Maura Guten didn’t encounter much adversity growing up, but others in her life did. Her parents were impoverished in Ireland. Her University of Tulsa roommate experienced abuse and neglect as a child. By Guerin Emig
Part 4: For many trauma survivors, the key is breaking down what happened to them. That’s what therapy and mental health programs like the Mental Health Association of Tulsa’s Walker Hall can do
As a high school senior in Alabama, Donavon Ramsey got used to not having a permanent place to sleep. By Tim Stanley
Tulsa elementary school gymnasium feels more like sanctuary thanks to caring teacher
It is the end of another challenging day at McClure, a Tulsa public elementary school tucked into a neighborhood where residents worry about low income and high crime. By Guerin Emig
Part 5: After losing seven students in a tornado-stricken Moore elementary school, a counselor is helping Oklahoma schools become trauma-informed
After an EF-5 tornado razed a school full of children in 2013 and Kristin Atchley lost seven students, she finally knew what chronic trauma was. Now she’s helping create trauma-informed schools in Oklahoma. By Andrea Eger
One school district is leading the state and nation in approach to serving students grappling with chronic stressors
A rapidly changing student population combined with two high-profile sexual assault cases among students forced school district leaders here to find a new approach to educating kids. By Andrea Eger
Central High School teacher advocated for Aylin Reyes once, now she advocates for children
As a child in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Aylin Reyes had a single mom. She didn’t know her father. Educational opportunities were grim. Adversity was prevalent. By Guerin Emig
Part 6: How a Tulsa real estate agent became Mama Linda to foster children
Linda Vincent lets you know straight away: Being a foster parent can be terrifying. “Ter-ri-fy-ing,” she says for emphasis. By Guerin Emig
Part 7: Central High School football coach calls strenuous work with at-risk students 'the most rewarding experience of my life'
Kip Shaw was once an unwavering college football assistant. Now, he coaches at Central High School, where he estimates 80% of his players have encountered alarming degrees of adversity. By Guerin Emig
Part 8: What the leading voices for change say Oklahoma needs to reduce chronic childhood traumas
Few people have been in a position to bear greater witness to Oklahoma’s extraordinary rates of childhood trauma than Doris Fransein, who recently retired as Tulsa County’s longtime chief judge over juvenile cases. By Andrea Eger
Tulsa World ACEs advisory board
A group of Tulsa’s leading experts on childhood trauma served as advisers to the Tulsa World’s reporting team.
Kristin Atchley, former executive director of counseling at the State Department of Education
Dr. Gerard Clancy, University of Tulsa president, psychiatrist (pictured)
Joe Dorman, former legislator and CEO of the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy
Judge Doris Fransein, retired District Court chief juvenile judge
Deidra Kirtley, Resonance Center for Women executive director
Gail Lapidus, CEO of Family and Children’s Services
Suzann Stewart, Family Safety Center executive director
Julie Summers, director of outreach and prevention at Mental Health Association of Oklahoma
Kristin Atchley uses past trauma to advocate for children dealing with adverse conditions
Michael Overall: Does Oklahoma have a problem too big to solve?
Tulsa World writer and columnist Michael Overall writes about why the newspaper tackled this topic here.
Ginnie Graham: Oklahoma can be a top 10 state if it reduced children experiencing trauma
Last year, Dr. Kim Coon at the University of Oklahoma-Tulsa said something that stuck with me: The ACEs will get you, one way or another. Read Ginnie Graham's column here.
Podcast: Listen to story behind the Tulsa World special report on Adverse Childhood Experiences
The latest episode of Mental Health Association Oklahoma's podcast "The Mental Health Download" tells the story behind the Tulsa World's 8-part series Breaking the Cycle.
The podcast, hosted by Matt Gleason with the Mental Health Association Oklahoma, includes interviews with three people who played key roles in the series.
Lucinda Morte is a mental health professional who has a relatively high ACE score herself.
Donavon Ramsey is a resilient 19-year-old with a high ACE score and plenty of heartbreaking stories.
Ashley Parrish, the Tulsa World’s deputy managing editor who oversaw the year-long process to make the Breaking the Cycle series a reality.
Listen to the podcast on Apple Podcasts.
"The Mental Health Download" shares stories each month about mental illness, homelessness, incarceration and suicide, and how each can impact our lives in a profound way.
