Wayman Tisdale one of proposed new names for Tulsa elementary school

[TulsaWorld]

Wayman Tisdale-related news

Two Tulsa elementary schools in search of new names are surveying their school communities this week and presenting them with a array of diverse candidates to consider.

....

Chouteau has a similarly diverse and trailblazing set of potential names.

There’s Edythe Scott Bagley, the sister of Coretta Scott King, and first black student admitted to Antioch College in Ohio; Maria Tallchief, one of Oklahoma’s famed five Indian ballerinas and a member of the Osage Nation; Wayman Tisdale, University of Oklahoma basketball great, former NBA player and jazz musician; and Maya Angelou, the author, actress and singer.

...

The names for Chouteau represent someone who made an impact on the arts. Tisdale, for example, was a bass guitarist.

Link

 

[TulsaWorld]

Update: The decision will likely come tonight.

Tulsa Public Schools’ renaming process may be nearing an end, and local basketball legend Wayman Tisdale’s name could soon be on an elementary school.

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The respective committees to rename Chouteau and Columbus elementary schools sent their recommendations to TPS Superintendent Deborah Gist and the Tulsa school board this week. Chouteau could be renamed Wayman Tisdale Fine Arts Academy. Columbus Elementary School could be renamed Dolores Huerta Elementary School.

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Tisdale is a TPS alumnus. He graduated from Booker T. Washington High School and spent three years at the University of Oklahoma. He won a gold medal with the 1984 U.S. Olympic basketball team. After being the second overall pick in the 1985 NBA draft, he played 13 seasons with three teams.

But he was chosen for his second act: his career as a jazz musician. The naming committee had the goal of honoring someone with a fine arts background.

Link

 

[TulsaWorld]

In anticipation of the vote, I created a photo gallery of Wayman Tisdale through the years, including quite a few we had of him back at Booker T. Washington in the early 80s.

Link

Was really surprised by some finds from his NBA days, though. Here's one of him with Charles Barkley lifting up Nancy Reagan:

Hope you enjoy!

 

[CMSOONER]

Great pics! Thank you TW

 

[TulsaWorld]

Great pics! Thank you TW

Thanks

Also, the Tulsa school board took no action on this last night, so the next time this could be brought up is June 18.

 

[SoonerBounce13]

So why is the columbus school getting renamed?

 

[TheGimper]

So why is the columbus school getting renamed?

If the school is named after Christopher Columbus I assume it’s being renamed because he was responsible for the slaughter of countless indigenous people.

 

[SoonerBounce13]

If the school is named after Christopher Columbus I assume it’s being renamed because he was responsible for the slaughter of countless indigenous people.

If you believe the PC crowd that are wanting to rewrite history, yes

 

[thebigabd]

If you believe the PC crowd that are wanting to rewrite history, yes

Some suggest his mere arrival led to the subsequent murder, theft, and enslavement that ensued in North America.. That part isn't really fair but Columbus wasn't a good guy.

He did enslave, murder, and mutilate the indigenous he personally encountered though. On top of stealing land and resources by force from them. Took several captive his first day on land as a gift back to Spain. Enslaved and murdered thousands more. This is pretty well-known.

I would think Wayman Tisdale is a better name for a school, considering he didn't enslave, rape, murder, or mutilate anyone.

My only other contribution to this is how ridiculous I think it is that Columbus Day is a federal holiday and the day we exercise our right to vote for new leadership isn't. Bare minimum, it should be a national holiday to vote for President. Democracy Day, if you will. Columbus literally never stepped foot on North American soil, in other words, never touched what is now this country.

 

[SoonerBounce13]

Some suggest his mere arrival led to the subsequent murder, theft, and enslavement that ensued in North America.. That part isn't really fair but Columbus wasn't a good guy.

He did enslave, murder, and mutilate the indigenous he personally encountered though. On top of stealing land and resources by force from them. Took several captive his first day on land as a gift back to Spain. Enslaved and murdered thousands more. This is pretty well-known.

I would think Wayman Tisdale is a better name for a school, considering he didn't enslave, rape, murder, or mutilate anyone.

My only other contribution to this is how ridiculous I think it is that Columbus Day is a federal holiday and the day we exercise our right to vote for new leadership isn't. Bare minimum, it should be a national holiday to vote for President. Democracy Day, if you will. Columbus literally never stepped foot on North American soil, in other words, never touched what is now this country.

AGain, it depends on where you get your sources.
obviously the link below is a biased source, but it is leading me to buy a copy of his journal to read myself. And in researching a journal to buy, I found that even that is controversial. B/c the original is lost and the copies made were abstracts. One was put together by somebody that had an axe to grind with columbus.

Atrocities happened. But do you know the context of them? Or are you just oging to take the liberal SJW's side as the gospel without doing your own research?

http://www.kofc.org/en/columbia/detail/2012_06_columbus_interview.html

And the reason he is celebrated is b/c of the huge accomplishment that his voyages achieved in linking the old world with the new world. It was a pivotal piece of history

 

[BoulderSooner]

as long as this stays civil this discussion is fine .... just make sure to keep in that way

 

[thebigabd]

AGain, it depends on where you get your sources.
obviously the link below is a biased source, but it is leading me to buy a copy of his journal to read myself. And in researching a journal to buy, I found that even that is controversial. B/c the original is lost and the copies made were abstracts. One was put together by somebody that had an axe to grind with columbus.

Atrocities happened. But do you know the context of them? Or are you just oging to take the liberal SJW's side as the gospel without doing your own research?

http://www.kofc.org/en/columbia/detail/2012_06_columbus_interview.html

And the reason he is celebrated is b/c of the huge accomplishment that his voyages achieved in linking the old world with the new world. It was a pivotal piece of history

I did plenty of my own research (years ago, and a minor refresher recently) and the things I said in my original post are considered by most to be accurate. I feel good about the sources of information.

There is always historical context, and people need to decide what they find acceptable. In this case, if the people of this community come together and want to change the name of their school, I support that. If the name change is being imposed on them without community or democratic support, I wouldn't support it.

 

[Ghost of Gar Heard]

I did plenty of my own research (years ago, and a minor refresher recently) and the things I said in my original post are considered by most to be accurate. I feel good about the sources of information.

There is always historical context, and people need to decide what they find acceptable. In this case, if the people of this community come together and want to change the name of their school, I support that. If the name change is being imposed on them without community or democratic support, I wouldn't support it.

There isn't any real doubt among historians that what you wrote is true. Any "revisionist history" (regardless of any poor attempts at ad hominem attacks) was done by denying those facts to begin with.

 

[SoonerBounce13]

There isn't any real doubt among historians that what you wrote is true. Any "revisionist history" (regardless of any poor attempts at ad hominem attacks) was done by denying those facts to begin with.

So, we as a people, the last few decades, are just a lot more enlightened and intelligent than the last 500 years?

Or maybe, people today are just unable to see history for history and react emotionally to perceived injustices

 

[SoonerBounce13]

I know that most will scoff at this, but

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vtxoi9T5yJg

 

[skyvue]

So, we as a people, the last few decades, are just a lot more enlightened and intelligent than the last 500 years?

As regards the role of (and treatment of) people of color, women and other groups, heck, yes -- and thank heaven for that. There's still much progress to be made, though.

Telling the whole story is vital to our understanding of history. For centuries history was written strictly from a white male point of view. The notion that this was true and accurate history -- and that any attempt to broaden our collective focus is mere political correctness (a term that has lost all meaning) -- is absurd. Revising our reading of history to consider and include all the participants is long overdue.

 

[CMSOONER]

Those in power have been writing their own version of history since the beginning of time. The Romans, English, Spanish, Germans, Americans, etc....every major civilization of power has manipulated and twisted the events of history that do not reflect them in a positive light.

 

[skyvue]

Those in power have been writing their own version of history since the beginning of time. The Romans, English, Spanish, Germans, Americans, etc....every major civilization of power has manipulated and twisted the events of history that do not reflect them in a positive light.

Very true. But that doesn't mean those skewed accounts have to go unexamined and unrebutted. I'd hate to think I could never revisit the events of my own life and gain new perspective on them, seeing them from the POV of the other people involved and perhaps acknowledging mistakes I made along the way that I'd never faced up to before. A country (or a people) should be willing to do the same. It's the only way to progress, I think.

 

[CMSOONER]

Very true. But that doesn't mean those skewed accounts have to go unexamined and unrebutted. I'd hate to think I could never revisit the events of my own life and gain new perspective on them, seeing them from the POV of the other people involved and perhaps acknowledging mistakes I made along the way that I'd never faced up to before. A country (or a people) should be willing to do the same. It's the only way to progress, I think.

100% agree

 

[TulsaWorld]

As mentioned earlier, the vote will not happen until June 18 at the earliest, so in the meantime, here's excerpts from Bill Haisten's latest column...

Gina Tisdale learned of the Tisdale school name possibility during a recent phone conversation with TPS Superintendent Deborah Gist.

“My reaction was, ‘Are you serious?’ I was elated,” Gina said. “It’s so cool. Our family works to keep Wayman’s legacy alive, so it’s good to see that the community still thinks highly of him. We love him. He’s our guy.”

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At 14 years younger than Tisdale, Etan Thomas also was a Booker T. basketball force who went on to play at Syracuse and in the NBA. After Tisdale died, Thomas wrote this for Slam magazine: “Wayman was more than an amazingly talented human being. He was a great man. Many people accomplish a long list of accolades throughout their athletic careers, but Wayman will be remembered far beyond his athletic or musical endeavors. Hearing different people tell stories after the memorial service (at the BOK Center), it became very apparent how special he was.

“Nobody talked about basketball; they spoke of him as a person. How he touched their lives. Something nice he did when he didn’t have to. How they respected his character or how good he was for the community. It was amazing hearing all of the stories.

“He has written his place in history, and will always be remembered as the pride of Tulsa.”

Link