It wasn’t difficult to pick which story to lead with this morning. Almost every news site in the state had the same one, an homage to a survivor and icon, Mother Viola Fletcher. The Tulsa Race Massacre survivor passed away at the age of 111, and I selected The Oklahoma Eagle to share.

And then a surprising story from The Frontier. The state is indeed paying to help find housing for those impacted by Operation SAFE in Oklahoma City. The story is surprising because it goes against what Gov. Kevin Stitt had said about this effort all along — that it was “not the state’s job.”

Last up today: a conversation with John Croisant, a Democrat running in Oklahoma’s 1st Congressional District. We tackled the big affordability questions — housing, health care, and child care — and dug into where he thinks solutions may come from. If you’ve got questions you want me to ask him next time, send them to [email protected].

This isn’t an endorsement or a paid placement. It’s simply what I hope is a thoughtful conversation. And if you’re a candidate, a business owner, an artist, or someone making positive things happen in Oklahoma, I want to talk with you, too. Reach out, and let’s line something up.

Have a terrific Tuesday!

By Ross Terrell, The Oklahoma Eagle
Click here to read the story.
Donate to Tulsa Flyer

Viola Fletcher, one of the oldest survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, has died at 111.

“Today, our city mourns the loss of Mother Viola Fletcher — a survivor of one of the darkest chapters in our city’s history,” Mayor Monroe Nichols said in a statement Monday. “Mother Fletcher endured more than anyone should, yet she spent her life lighting a path forward with purpose.”

During the 100th anniversary of the massacre, Fletcher spoke before the U.S. House of Representatives describing the violence of the white mob in her childhood community of Greenwood, also known as Black Wall Street.

“I still see Black men being shot, Black bodies lying in the street. I still smell smoke and see fire,” she told the House subcommittee in 2021.

Damario Solomon-Simmons is the founder of Justice for Greenwood and lead attorney for massacre survivors and descendants seeking reparations. He lamented Fletcher’s passing, saying she died “without a single act of real redress from the City of Tulsa for what was taken from her as a little girl in Greenwood.”

Still, he said her legacy and impact go beyond the tragedy of 1921.

“When I think about Mother Fletcher, I don’t just see a historic figure or a symbol,” Solomon-Simmons said Monday in a statement. “I see a woman I sat with, prayed with, laughed with, and went to court with. I see a family that trusted us with their pain, their story, and their hope.” 

Fletcher not receiving any justice “isn’t just a legal failure, it’s a moral one,” Solomon-Simmons said.

“But grief is not the end of this story,” he said. “Because if you knew Mother Fletcher — even a little — you know she would not want us to stop here. She would not want her passing to be the end of the fight. She would want it to light a fire under all of us.” 

Click here to finish the story.

Editor’s note: Links requiring subscriptions have an *.

By Maddy Keyes, The Frontier
Click here to read the story.
Donate to The Frontier

The state is negotiating a contract to pay up to $800,000 for housing and services for some people after Gov. Kevin Stitt’s push to clear homeless encampments on state property in Oklahoma City. 

The pending deal between the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and the City of Oklahoma City would cover the costs of stabilization services, case management and housing for those displaced by Stitt’s Operation SAFE. 

The planned use of state funds hasn’t been previously reported and marks a reversal from Stitt’s prior stance against housing people experiencing homelessness with taxpayer money. Stitt said in 2023 that homelessness won’t be solved by handing out “free stuff” — a message he echoed less than a week after Operation SAFE launched in Oklahoma City. 

“This is not the state’s job,” Stitt told KOCO during a Nov. 2 interview. “When you build housing, when you make it easier to be homeless, when you give everybody three meals a day and a house to live in — that is not, you can never build enough houses. You will just continue to attract and attract and attract.”

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol and Oklahoma Department of Transportation began clearing homeless encampments from state property in Oklahoma City in October as part of Stitt’s Operation SAFE. At least 11 encampments have been cleared so far. State officials are planning additional phases of the operation.

The group Key to Home will track how many people stay in the program for at least 30 consecutive days to receive payments, said Abegail Cave, a spokesperson for Stitt. Key to Home is a public-private partnership working to prevent and end homelessness that is led by the City of Oklahoma City.

Click here to finish the story.

By Ryan Welton, Oklahoma Memo
Subscribe to the YouTube channel

Oklahoma remains cheaper than much of the country, but affordability has become the defining pressure point for middle-class families. Nearly half of Oklahomans fall below the ALICE Threshold — Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed — meaning they work full-time yet struggle to cover housing, health care, and child care. A long conversation with Congressional District 1 candidate John Croisant underscored how these three costs are intersecting to shape daily life.

Housing leads the list. In Tulsa alone, officials estimate the city is short more than 14,600 units. That shortage pushes prices up across the board, even as developers, nonprofits and the Tulsa Housing Authority partner on mixed-income projects meant to replace aging public housing. New complexes at 36th & North and along the west bank of the Arkansas River will house nearly 1,000 residents, combining market-rate and subsidized units. Croisant says these projects have lifted average incomes in formerly distressed areas while encouraging new schools, businesses and services to locate nearby.

Health care affordability adds an even heavier burden. Oklahomans who receive insurance through employers are seeing rates rise sharply, while self-employed residents depend on ACA marketplace plans whose future is tangled in congressional negotiations. Croisant argues that ending subsidies or returning to pre-ACA rules would push thousands off insurance and lead to more emergency-room-only care — the most expensive form of treatment. He points to the growing role of private intermediaries in driving up costs, leaving hospitals, doctors and pharmacies squeezed even as patients pay more.

Long-term, he supports a Medicare-for-All-style base layer of universal coverage, with the option to buy supplemental private plans on top of it. The goal, he says, is ensuring preventive care is accessible before small issues become medical or financial emergencies. Roughly 80% of U.S. health spending occurs in the final years of life, and the system isn’t designed to balance aging demand with shrinking workforces in medicine and nursing.

Child care completes the picture, especially for families who want to stay in the workforce. Basic child care in Oklahoma often runs more than $1,300 per month per child — a price that forces many parents, often mothers, to leave full-time work entirely. With the U.S. birth rate falling to 1.6 children per household, Croissant says child care affordability isn’t just a family issue; it’s an economic one. Without a larger, stable workforce, the country can’t support its aging population or fill critical fields like education and health care.

To bring costs down, he backs expanding the federal child tax credit for younger children, strengthening the child care workforce through incentives and increasing early-education capacity. In his view, public schools should eventually serve children beginning at age 3, providing reliable full-day schedules that align with work hours. Private employers also need to play a role, he says, because most workdays don’t end at 2:30 p.m.

The costs may differ — rent, premiums, child care tuition — but the theme is consistent: the middle class is losing ground, even when households are doing everything right. Housing, health care and child care aren’t abstract policy debates; they’re monthly bills that determine whether a person can stay healthy, stay housed and stay working. The ALICE Threshold makes that plain, and the pressure shows no sign of easing.

This conversation is available on YouTube and wherever you get podcasts. Please subscribe, follow, and leave ‘Oklahoma Memo’ a 5-star review to help the podcast reach more people.

Editor’s note: Links requiring subscriptions have an *.

A hand-curated list of the best journalism from across the state:

• Four injured in Weatherford ammonia leak file lawsuit against Airgas, hotel (The Oklahoman)*

• 'It’s a little shocking': Birth control linked to 20-year-old Oklahoma woman's stroke (KOCO)

• Oklahoma City woman grateful for second chance after lifesaving double-lung transplant (News 9)

• OU College of International Studies professor reportedly arrested by ICE (OU Daily)

• Durant city officials address rumors about ICE facility at old Big Lots site (KXII)

• Domestic violence board chairman resigns in protest (Oklahoma Watch)

• 3 arrested in Oklahoma-Missouri human trafficking operation (Gaylord News)

• Maternal and infant health in Oklahoma trailing national outcomes, report shows (Oklahoma Voice)

• Police release new details on weekend killing spree that started in Moore, ended in Oklahoma City (KFOR)

• Oklahoma names chief AI and technology officer (Oklahoma Voice)

• Cattle industry is keeping Oklahoma agriculture economy stronger as neighbors struggle (KOSU)

• Another Oklahoma highway patrol operation near Durant sees nearly 100 arrested for immigration violations (KOSU)

• TSET awards nearly $150 million in legacy grants to expand, improve Oklahoma health care (KGOU)

• 5 things to know about data centers being developed in eastern Oklahoma (Tulsa World)*

• OU researchers aim to reduce Indigenous cancer disparities through enhanced navigation services (KGOU)

• ‘Unprofessional’: Tulsa Housing Authority audit issues complicate OHFA votes for 36 North (NonDoc)

• Controversial Cry Baby Hill statue now planned for private land in east Tulsa (Tulsa Flyer)

• Noble farmer frustrated with application process after being denied grant with ODAFF (KFOR)

• Road construction threatens survival of Stutts House of Barbeque in north Tulsa (The Oklahoma Eagle)

• 'Nobody knew what was coming': Council Hill residents upset with solar project (KJRH)

• If cooking isn’t for you, buy your favorite Thanksgiving sides and sweets at these Tulsa businesses (Tulsa Flyer)

• USO Oklahoma hosts annual Thanksgiving meal Wednesday (KSWO)

• ‘Don’t separate us’: Longtime OU seatmates fear losing 28-year friendship in stadium upgrade (KOCO)

Sunny and cool.

🌡️ Tuesday's high in OKC 60°
🌡️ Tuesday’s high in Tulsa 61°

Everyone talks about AI, but no one has the time to learn it. So, we found the easiest way to learn AI in as little time as possible: The Rundown AI.

It's a free AI newsletter that keeps you up-to-date on the latest AI news, and teaches you how to apply it in just 5 minutes a day.

Plus, complete the quiz after signing up and they’ll recommend the best AI tools, guides, and courses – tailored to your needs.

Sign up to start learning.

If you’re interested in partnering with Oklahoma Memo, reach out to me at [email protected]. We have ad spaces available in this newsletter, on social media and in our podcasts.

The ‘Oklahoma Memo’ mission is simple: Reignite the daily local news habit by connecting Oklahomans and those who love Oklahoma to quality sources of news and vetted information.

✅ Save you time.
✅ Make you smarter.
✅ Strengthen your community.

‘Oklahoma Memo’ is on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. There is also a YouTube channel — and it’s all growing day by day.

Message me anytime at [email protected].