Browse Exhibits (4 total)
10th Anniversary of Pulse Nightclub Attack
The Oklahomans for Equality History Project remembers with sadness the massacre of 49 people and wounding of 58 more at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, 10 years ago on June 12, 2016. The FBI called the act the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil since Sept. 11, 2001. The shootings happened at a previously “safe and inclusive LGBTQIA+ nightclub during Latin Night at Pulse.”
The massacre occurred during the early morning hours, and the shock reverberated across the nation. In Tulsa, then-Police Chief Chuck Jordan directed extra patrols to ensure safety at OkEq’s Dennis R. Neill Equality Center and at Tulsa’s gay bars.
That night, Oklahomans for Equality held a candlelight vigil at Club Majestic in the Tulsa Arts District, and buildings across downtown Tulsa were lit with rainbow colors. The Tulsa World reported that the Majestic event drew more than 1,000 people, including then-County Commissioner Karen Keith, City Councilor Karen Gilbert and then-City Councilor G.T. Bynum. A copy of the article is in the OkEq History Project archives, and the Oral History Project’s April 21, 2026, video interview of Club Majestic owner David Dees includes a discussion of that night.
In addition, a Mass of Remembrance was held at Tulsa’s Parish Church of St. Jerome. A 20-page program from the service also is in the archives. Other churches hosted prayer vigils for victims of violence, and, in solidarity, the Islamic Society of Tulsa invited the Oklahomans for Equality Board of Directors to a Ramadan feast at its mosque and then hosted the board’s monthly meeting there. That Monday morning, Tulsa Public Schools was flying a rainbow flag in front of its Education Service Center, with then-Superintendent Deborah Gist telling PFLAG icon Nancy McDonald that "TPS is committed to fostering safe and supportive climates for everybody," OkEq reported in its June 16, 2016, eNews.
One year after the tragedy, on June 12, 2017, Oklahomans for Equality and Moms Demand Action in Oklahoma held a community-wide candlelight vigil at the Dennis R. Neill Equality Center in a show of solidarity with Orlando and our Latinx LGBTQ community, according to the June 7, 2017, OkEq eNews.
On June 11, 2019, Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum issued a proclamation declaring June 11 Reflections of Resilience Day in Tulsa in memory of the mass shooting at the Pulse three years earlier.
Our history will not be forgotten. The Oklahomans for Equality History Project encourages you to learn more about OkEq’s history by visiting our online archives at history.okeq.org.
The First Homosexuals: The Birth of a New Identity 1869-1939
We’ve always been here – and everywhere – and art history shows it.
Oklahomans for Equality’s History Project has recently acquired “The First Homosexuals: The Birth of a New Identity 1869-1939,” the book that accompanied an art exhibition by the same name at Chicago’s Wrightwood 659 gallery from May 2 – Aug 2, 2025. The book provides an exhaustive look at more than 300 paintings, drawings, sculptures, prints, photographs, and film stills from Europe, North America, South America and Asia dating back centuries. It also includes 22 essays by experts in art and LGBTQ+ history focusing on art from various geographical regions – from Japan to Australia to the Indigenous populations of South America.
You are welcome to come by the History Project in the Nancy and Joe McDonald Rainbow Library on the second floor of the Dennis R. Neill Equality Center and peruse the book.
Repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Policy
April 27, 2026 represents the 15th anniversary of the end of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” which allows gays and lesbians to openly serve in the U.S. military branches. In 2016 under the Obama administration, trans individuals could also openly serve. This policy was rescinded by the Trump administration in 2019, reinstated in 2021 under the Biden administration, again rescinded in 2025 under the Trump administration which took further steps to remove trans members from active service. When “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell ended in 2011, Oklahomans for Equality opened the Equality Center to military recruiters, the first in the nation in a center dedicated to the LGBTQ community. This event received positive international news coverage. While the recent policy changes by the Department of Defense are of deep concern, we want to recognize the important work to secure full inclusion in society. OkEq proudly sponsors the Veterans’ Wall on the second floor of the Equality Center, highlighting the contributions of many in our community who proudly served our country.