They’re Playing in Our Faces: Reflections from the Tulsa City Council Meeting

By Dr. Angela K. Chambers

Last night, I watched the Tulsa City Council meeting, and honestly, the phrase “they’re playing in our faces” could not have been more fitting.

What I witnessed was not leadership rooted in community trust, transparency, or collaboration. What I witnessed looked more like political alliances, personal loyalties, strategic friendships, and power consolidation disguised as public service.

And before anyone tries to reduce this conversation to race alone, let me be clear: Black communities are fighting battles on multiple fronts at the same time.

We deal with systemic barriers and historical inequities that continue to impact our communities economically, politically, and socially. We fight to gain access to resources, opportunities, and fair representation. But simultaneously, we are also forced to confront corruption, ego, favoritism, and manipulation within our own circles.

That reality hurts.

At the council meeting, I watched funding get redirected away from an organization that had already been voted on and approved previously. Instead of honoring the original process and the voices connected to it, political influence appeared to take center stage.

What made the situation even more troubling was hearing council members openly acknowledge their alliances with one another and their relationships with organizations benefiting from the decisions being made.

One councilor essentially admitted what many citizens already suspect: there is often an understanding among elected officials to support each other’s agendas because they expect the same support in return for their own districts later.

Think about that for a moment.

If votes are being exchanged through political alliances rather than evaluated independently on merit, then what happens to the voice of the people?

What happens to transparency?

What happens to accountability?

And perhaps most concerning — what happens when public meetings become formalities instead of genuine opportunities for community input?

The public spoke.

People expressed concerns.

Yet the outcome appeared predetermined.

That is exactly why so many residents become discouraged from civic engagement. People start believing the decisions are already made before they even enter the room.

Another alarming idea raised during the discussion was the notion that councilors should essentially be involved in everything happening within their districts.

Now on the surface, involvement sounds good. Representation matters. Advocacy matters.

But there is a dangerous line between representation and control.

Elected officials are not supposed to become gatekeepers over every initiative, organization, partnership, or opportunity in a district. Communities are made up of business owners, nonprofits, residents, educators, faith leaders, organizers, and everyday people with ideas and visions that should not require political permission to exist.

A city council seat should not function like ownership over a district.

Because here is the uncomfortable truth: popularity does not automatically equal competence. A person can win an election because they are charismatic, well-known, emotionally appealing, or politically connected — and still lack the wisdom, ethics, strategic thinking, or leadership capacity necessary to make sound decisions affecting thousands of lives.

That is not hate. That is reality.

And this is why communities must stop blindly defending people simply because they look like us, belong to our group, or say the right slogans.

“Black power” means nothing if power is used to silence, manipulate, redirect resources unfairly, or elevate friends while the broader community continues struggling.

Leadership without accountability becomes exploitation.

And communities that normalize blind loyalty eventually become trapped by it.

One of the most damaging tactics used in our communities is the way accountability gets twisted into betrayal.

The moment someone speaks up against corruption, favoritism, manipulation, or injustice involving another Black person, the conversation often shifts away from the actual issue and becomes emotional theater.

Suddenly, instead of discussing the concern itself, people begin saying things like: “You’re attacking a Black woman.” “You’re tearing down your own people.” “Don’t put this in front of white folks.” “We need to protect our queens.” “Stop the Black-on-Black division.”

But accountability is not division.

Truth is not betrayal.

And protecting harmful behavior simply because the person is Black does not help Black communities heal, grow, or advance.

In fact, that mindset is one of the very things keeping many of our communities trapped.

Because what happens is this: The person exposing the issue becomes the villain while the actual behavior gets ignored.

People begin defending personalities instead of principles.

They defend friendships instead of fairness.

They defend image instead of integrity.

And anyone willing to ask difficult questions gets painted as bitter, divisive, jealous, angry, or “anti-Black.”

That is manipulation.

Real leadership should be able to withstand scrutiny.

Real leaders do not need blind loyalty. They need transparency, accountability, wisdom, and ethics.

If we cannot question decisions, challenge misuse of power, or speak honestly about wrongdoing within our own communities, then we are no longer building community — we are protecting dysfunction.

And dysfunction does not become healthy simply because it is wrapped in Blackness.

Our ancestors fought too hard for us to reduce “Black empowerment” to silence, favoritism, and political protectionism.

True empowerment means we hold ourselves to higher standards — not lower ones. 

Tulsa — especially historic Greenwood and North Tulsa — deserves leadership that prioritizes integrity over alliances, collaboration over ego, and community advancement over political favoritism.

People are tired.

People are watching.

And more importantly, people are beginning to recognize when they are being played in their faces.

The question now becomes: Will we continue accepting it?

Or will we finally demand leadership that truly serves the people instead of political circles?