Our Mission
To support educational efforts that increase personal
self-esteem, promote public enlightenment and advance equality
for LGBT Oklahomans.
PRESS
CONTACT:
Rob Howard
Executive Director
Cimarron Alliance Foundation
(405) 210-2476
robhowar@aol.com
Cimarron Alliance Foundation to
present
“Stop Hate in the Hallways 2”
Conference
OKLAHOMA CITY, Sept. 2, 2008 – The
director of an organization focused
on preventing violence and prejudice
in schools and colleges has been
invited to provide the keynote
address at the upcoming Stop Hate in
the Hallways 2 Conference:
Strategies for Preventing School
Violence.
The one-day conference presented by
the Cimarron Alliance Foundation is
set for Thursday, Nov. 13, at the
National Center for Employee
Development, 2801 E. State Hwy. 9,
Norman. The conference will address
hands-on strategies for preventing
school violence and will feature a
keynote address by Stephen L.
Wessler, director of the Center for
the Prevention of Hate Violence at
the University of Southern Maine and
former Maine assistant attorney
general.
Organizers hope educators, policy
makers, attorneys, law enforcement
personnel and community leaders will
attend the conference, which will
focus training on the intervention
and prevention of bullying and
harassment.
“This conference has been developed
out of concern for all children and
youth who may be bullied or harassed
in our schools today,” said Randy
Tate, Cimarron board member and
conference organizer. “National data
on bullying and harassment suggest
that bullies most often target
children and youth who differ from
the mainstream population because of
a religious, racial, gender or
sexual orientation bias.”
Between 2000 and 2005, FBI data show
simple assault in schools went from
16,898 reported cases to 129,675
cases, and intimidation went from
5,154 to 35,715 cases. According to
data analyzed by Harris Interactive,
for example, 68 percent of Latino
students have been harassed or
assaulted in high school and 90
percent of LGBT students have
reported similar situations.
Wessler will provide keynote remarks
during the conference. His center
develops and implements programs in
schools, colleges and communities to
prevent bias, prejudice, harassment
and violence and promotes writing
and teaching on issues relating to
bias-motivated violence. He has
conducted scores of trainings on
preventing hate violence to
educators, students, police officers
and community members. In 1998,
Wessler participated in the U.S.
Department of Justice’s Working
Group, which developed and piloted
the National Hate Crimes Training
Curriculum.
"Stephen Wessler is strong advocate
in the fight against school
violence. His no-nonsense approach
brings the entire school community -
administrators, faculty, parents,
students, even the school bus
drivers - into the fight to make our
schools safe for every child,” said
Rob Howard, Cimarron Alliance
Foundation executive director. “He
excludes no children in his efforts,
regarding violence against gay,
lesbian, bisexual and transgendered
youth to be as much of a concern to
the community as religious, ethnic,
and racial discrimination. This is
going to be an exceptional one-day
conference."
Beth Reis, a health educator from
Seattle, Wash., and co-founder of
the Safe Schools Coalition, also
will conduct two workshops that will
center on helping campuses become
safe places where every educator can
teach and every child can learn
regardless of gender identity or
sexual orientation.
State Attorney General Drew Edmonson
is slated to provide opening
comments for the conference, which
will also feature a panel of high
school students who will discuss
real-life examples of harassment in
their own schools.
Total tuition for the conference is
$75, which includes lunch as well as
six continuing-educational units (CEUs)
for licensed mental health
professionals. Scholarships are
available.
The first Stop Hate in the Hallways
was held in October 2007 and drew
more than 350 attendees from more
than 20 Oklahoma communities.
Cimarron was supported by 53 partner
organizations, including national,
state and local nonprofit
organizations and three government
agencies to develop and promote the
conference. Kevin Jennings, founder
and chief executive officer for
GLSEN, was the featured keynote
speaker.
NOTE TO MEDIA: A high-resolution
photo of Stephen Wessler or the Stop
Hate in the Hallways 2 logo is
available upon request.
WE WANT YOU!
The Cimarron
Alliance Foundation depends on
committee-level volunteers to
carry-out efforts and programming in
the following areas:
Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual and Transgender
Community Outreach – Programming
includes the annual LGBT
Leadership Summit and the
foundation’s participation in
Pride activities.
Greater
Community Outreach – Programming
includes the “Stop Hate in the
Hallways” conference and other
community events.
Fundraising –
Plans the annual Coach House
dinner and other fundraising
events. Also organizes annual
fundraising campaigns.
Media / Public
Relations – Sends regular press
releases; Publishes a quarterly
e-newsletter; Maintains website
content; Plans Cimarron ARTS!
Grant Writing –
Research grant making
foundations and write grant
proposals.
During the upcoming
year the foundation will, once
again, assume an ambitious agenda of
educational programs and outreach
activities. As a result, we are
currently seeking volunteers at the
committee level. Committees
generally meet on a monthly basis
and time-requirements vary depending
on committee activities. If you
would like to donate you time and
talents to the Cimarron Alliance
Foundation, please submit your
information through the following
link:
Judy Shepard visits city to
spread message of erasing hate
Nearly a decade after her son
Matthew’s death to an anti-gay hate
crime, Judy Shepard visited Oklahoma
City to discuss the need for
tolerance and erasing hate across
the nation.
Shepard provided the keynote address
during the Cimarron Alliance
Foundation’s Pride-week fund-raising
event June 19 at the Skirvin Hilton
Hotel. The event drew more than 250
people.
“I think it is easy to forget after
10 years that Judy Shepard is a mom
who lost her son tragically,” said
Richard Ogden, chair of the
foundation. “She is forced to relive
this tragedy each time she gives an
interview or speaks in his memory. I
want to bear witness to the
tremendous amount of energy it took
for this mom to tell her story so
that our lives may be better. After
three television interviews she was
drained, but she summoned her
strength again to appear before the
packed room for the dinner. She does
this not for self but for us. So
that each of us might live in a more
fair and equitable nation.”
Shepard travels the nation sharing
her ideas on making the world a more
accepting place for everyone
regardless of race, religion,
ethnicity, sex, gender, gender
identity and expression or sexual
orientation. As executive director
of the Matthew Shepard Foundation,
she recently unveiled an “erase
hate” campaign, which strives to
replace hate with compassion,
understanding and tolerance.
At the conclusion of the event at
the Skirvin, patrons were encouraged
to take pink erasers and erase the
word hate from index cards placed at
their tables. Then they were
inspired to replace the hatred
language with messages of love and
encouragement for all people.
“The fight against hate, bigotry and
hate crimes is moved forward by the
efforts of partners like the Matthew
Shepard Foundation and Judy Shepard,”
said Rob Howard, executive director
of the Cimarron Alliance Foundation.
“Judy Shepard’s visit provided
Cimarron another opportunity to get
the message out to our fellow
Oklahomans, and particularly the
‘moveable middle,’ that hate crimes
are a problem and that as a society
we must fight them. The news
coverage was broad and favorable.
Mrs. Shepard’s courage, message and
the moral power she brings to the
battle are important in the fight
against hate crimes in Oklahoma and
in the nation.”
Under Shepard’s leadership at the
Matthew Shepard Foundation, the
organization has become a
well-established, highly effective
and much respected institution in
the civil rights community. She has
spoken to more than one million
young people about the impact of
hate speech and violence as well as
the importance of understanding and
appreciating diversity in all of its
forms.
“Judy Shepard’s visit provided an
opportunity for the Oklahoma
business community and Oklahomans in
general to stand together and say
that despite what has been broadcast
throughout the nation and world
about our state, we truly are a
tolerant, diverse and welcoming
people,” said Saul Olivarez, chair
of the fund-raising event.
2008 LGBT Leadership Summit big success
Dozens
of community leaders attended the 2008
LGBT Leadership Summit on May 10 in part
to strengthen partnerships among
nonprofit organizations and learn more
about legal issues affecting the
community.
>>More
Paul
Karr, National Field
Director for Gay and Lesbian
Alliance Against Defamation,
speaks to the 2008 LGBT
Leadership Summit, May 10.
Shawn Werner of the Gay and
Lesbian Leadership
Institute, conducts a
workshop on how to become a
politician.
July 2008
At its board meeting, members of the
Cimarron Alliance Foundation board
of directors voted to support the
Oklahoma City University School of
Law Lesbian and Gay Law Student
Association with a $650 grant to
sponsor a member attending Lavender
Law, a national conference. The
conference, which allows law
students to interact with members of
the legal profession actively
engaged in all aspects of LGBT
issues, will be held in early
September in San Francisco. This
marks the second year Cimarron has
supported the student group's trip.
