No justice, no peace - Rev. Robert Turner

Welcome to Tulsa Talks presented by Tulsa Regional Chamber. I’m your host Tim Landes. 

On May 30, I snapped photos as Rev. Robert Turner stood in the street of the Brookside commercial district as he led a “We Can’t Breathe” protest. It was the first of three weeks of protests in Tulsa in what became global response to the killing of George Floyd. For many Tulsans, it was a reminder of the recent officer involved killings of Black Tulsans Terence Crutcher, Joshua Barre, Joshua Harvey and others. Throughout the protests, Rev. Turner was among those saying their names as he led the call for police reform. We lead this discussion with his reaction to the Floyd killing and how it spurred a local response.

Following the May 30 and 31 protests, it led to a sitdown with Mayor G.T. Bynum to discuss the changes Turner and other Black leaders want to see occur in the City of Tulsa. Turner is a vocal critic of the mayor. On June 8, I took photos as Turner stood near the City Hall entrance and pointed his megaphone up toward the mayor’s office as he continued to call out his demands for change. Turner discusses his issues with the mayor, policing and the justice system and how it’s connected to the Tulsa Race Massacre, which occurred 99 years ago the weekend the protests started. 

In the second half of our conversation we discuss why Dr. Turner came to Tulsa to lead the congregation at the historic Vernon AME Church, which is the lone building on Black Wall Street to survive the destruction of the Race Massacre. He also shares what it means to him to lead the historic church as we near the 100th anniversary of the most horrific event in our city’s history.

Dr. Turner’s roots are in Alabama. Born and raised in Tuskegee, he went to school at the University of Alabama where before graduating with honors he helped lead a movement, which caused the university to recognize the presence of two slaves, Jack and Boysie, who were buried on the college campus. He led congregations in Mobile and Selma before relocating to Tulsa in 2017, where he immediately got to work.  

Rev Turner sits on the National African American Reparations Commission, Board of Trustees for the American Village, the 1921 Race Massacre Centennial Commission, Tulsa Mass Graves Oversight Commission,  the Board of Directors for the Terence Crutcher Foundation, North Tulsa Task Force, Demanding a Just Tulsa, and the Advisory Board of the Blackburn Institute of the University of Alabama and the chairperson of the board for the Turner Ministry Association 501(c)3. He is also an Academic Dean for Jackson Theological Seminary, in Little Rock Arkansas.

This conversation occurred by phone on June 23. It was a few days after the Juneteenth weekend and President Donald Trump’s Tulsa rally. It had been a long three weeks before our talk. I spent many days in front of the marches and close to megaphones snapping hundreds of photos as Rev. Turner and others led protests. You can see those galleries on TulsaPeople.com. 

It’s an important time in our city, and this was an important conversation that I’m thankful to share with you. 

Following my conversation with Rev. Turner, our music writer Kyra Bruce shares a new single from Tulsa artist Natalie Lauren. More on that later. 

Let’s get this going.  

This is Tulsa Talks with Rev. Robert Turner.