00:50 For many families, Alzheimer’s doesn’t arrive all at once—it creeps in through forgotten names, missed appointments, and the quiet heartbreak of watching someone you love slip away. In the Black community, the disease hits harder and earlier. Zaakirah Muhammad has a story about Alzheimer’s—not just as a medical condition, but as a community issue that demands visibility, resources, and compassion.

14:02 In part one of Anna Wilson's story, we heard the numbers, and the stories behind them, revealing how queer youth in Oklahoma are disproportionately pushed to the margins, often with nowhere safe to land. In part two, we go beyond the statistics to find young people navigating rejection, resilience, and survival in a state where support can feel scarce.

25:55 In May of 2025, Oklahoma passed House Bill 1588, creating the Spring Creek Watershed Study Act, to address waterway contamination from poultry farm waste in northeastern Oklahoma. The bill’s passage is due in part to a local non-profit which has worked for decades to protect the Spring Creek Watershed. This month, Roma Carter has the first part of the story.

37:32 On a small stage in Tulsa, big stories are being told—stories of Black womanhood, survival, joy, and reckoning. World Stage Theater is bringing a bold new production to life with For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf a production of Ntozake Shange’s 1976 groundbreaking choreopoem. First written to give voice to what was too often silenced, the work still resonates decades later. Kelli McCloud-Schingen, executive director of World Stage Theater, discusses how this production honors Shange’s legacy while simultaneously speaking directly to the current moment.

41:12 Black history isn’t only marked by struggle—it’s also filled with moments of laughter, brilliance, and pride that stay with us for a lifetime. In this story, Sondra Slade brings us back to a personal remembrance, but also a shared one, echoing the quiet questions and powerful affirmations that shape how we come to know ourselves.

Focus: Black Oklahoma is produced in partnership with KOSU Radio & Tri-City Collective. Additional support is provided by the Commemoration Fund & Press Forward.

Our theme music is by Moffett Music.

Focus: Black Oklahoma's executive producers are Quraysh Ali Lansana & Bracken Klar. Our associate producers are Jesse Ulrich, & Naomi Agnew. Our production interns are Alexander Evans, Roma Carter, Jess Grimes, & Anna Wilson.

You can visit us online at KOSU.org or FocusBlackOklahoma.com & on YouTube @TriCityCollectiveOK. You can follow us on Instagram @FocusBlackOK & on Facebook at Facebook.com/FocusBlackOK.

You can hear Focus: Black Oklahoma on demand at KOSU.org, the NPR app, NPR.org, or wherever you get your podcasts.

https://linktr.ee/focusblackok

1:11 A 2016 study published in The Journal of the Oklahoma State Medical Association found that pancreatic cancer was the fourth most common cause of cancer death in Oklahoma from 2008 to 2012. FBO’s Zaakirah Muhammad examines why this cancer hits Black communities harder, what warning signs often go unheard, and how awareness, advocacy, and early action can save lives.

14:58 In communities across Oklahoma, far too many young people are facing nights without a safe place to sleep. For queer youth, the risk of homelessness is even greater—driven by family rejection, discrimination, and a shortage of supportive services. This isn’t just a statistic; it’s a crisis that affects real kids in our neighborhoods. Anna Wilson shines a light on queer youth homelessness right here in Oklahoma.

29:21 College football has entered a new era—one where name, image, and likeness, or NIL, deals have changed the business of the game. But for Black athletes playing on predominantly white campuses, the NIL era brings both opportunity and complication. FBO’s Phil Childs shares the stories of two former college football athletes who unpack the realities behind the headlines.

37:12 In part 2 of Sondra Slade’s story on the unveiling of Clara Luper’s statue in downtown Oklahoma City, she gets personal with Marilyn Luper Hildreth, Luper’s daughter and one of the original 13 sit-inners. Slade also gains insight from sculptor Elliot Schwartz about his process, challenges faced, and what this project means to him.

Focus: Black Oklahoma is produced in partnership with KOSU Radio & Tri-City Collective. Additional support is provided by the Commemoration Fund & Press Forward. Our theme music is by Moffett Music.

Focus: Black Oklahoma's executive producers are Quraysh Ali Lansana & Bracken Klar. Our associate producers are Jesse Ulrich, & Naomi Agnew. Our production interns are Alexander Evans, Roma Carter, Jess Grimes, & Anna Wilson.

You can visit us online at KOSU.org or FocusBlackOklahoma.com & on YouTube @TriCityCollectiveOK.

You can follow us on Instagram @FocusBlackOK & on Facebook at Facebook.com/FocusBlackOK.

You can hear Focus: Black Oklahoma on demand at KOSU.org, the NPR app, NPR.org, or wherever you get your podcasts.

https://linktr.ee/focusblackok

2:02 In part two of her look at the growing wave of attacks on free speech across college campuses, Nico Berlin takes us inside the story of the Maneater, the University of Missouri’s printed newspaper which switched to a digital only platform in May 2023 after nearly seven decades of publication. In her story, she reminds us that printed newspapers are significant because they make truth tangible.

11:18 Breast cancer touches families across every community, yet the burden of this disease is not shared equally. For Black women, a breast cancer diagnosis too often carries higher stakes, revealing how survival is shaped not only by biology, but by history, access, and justice. This disparity reflects deeper inequities. Danielle A. Melton brings us more.

20:40 As Oklahoma reduces nearly $40 million from its mental health budget, community-based programs across the state are feeling the impact. In the second part of her series on mental health, Alana Mbanza examines how therapists, artists, and community organizers are creating alternative spaces for healing, connection, and support.

34:57 Clara Luper, also known as the Mother of the Civil Rights Movement, was recently commemorated in the form of a statue honoring her legacy leading Oklahoma City’s sit-in movement. Luper and the work of her student activists will now be memorialized forever. FBO’s Sondra Slade was there.

45:36 This podcast episode closes with a poem by Tinasha LaRayeė. She read this poem at the unveiling of the Clara Luper statue in Oklahoma City.

Focus: Black Oklahoma is produced in partnership with KOSU Radio & Tri-City Collective. Additional support is provided by the Commemoration Fund & Press Forward.

Our theme music is by Moffett Music.

Focus: Black Oklahoma's executive producers are Quraysh Ali Lansana & Bracken Klar. Our associate producers are Jesse Ulrich, & Naomi Agnew. Our production interns are Alexander Evans, Jess Grimes, Roma Carter, and Anna Wilson.

You can visit us online at KOSU.org or FocusBlackOklahoma.com & on YouTube @TriCityCollectiveOK.

You can follow us on Instagram @FocusBlackOK & on Facebook at Facebook.com/FocusBlackOK.

You can hear Focus: Black Oklahoma on demand at KOSU.org, the NPR app, NPR.org, or wherever you get your podcasts.

https://linktr.ee/focusblackok