Presentation On Asylum Law At Catholic Charities In Tulsa OK

Attorney Robert Messerli Speaking On Asylum Law In Tulsa

In the recently published and critically acclaimed  work “Our Towns,” authors James and Deborah Fallows wrote of their extensive travels throughout the nation via their small plane which they both piloted and also some of their surprising conclusions about where progress and rebirth are occurring in both small towns and large cities. They found that where efforts are being made to address local concerns in which citizens of diverse backgrounds and political affiliations came together in joint  undertakings for that purpose is one of the indicia of a community that is growing and prospering.
And one joint endeavor could be seen occurring on the spacious campus of Catholic Charities of Tulsa where a diverse group of attorneys that included  retirees in shorts, housewives who haven’t practiced  law for  several   years, committed political activists, and    men of various ages who wore pinstriped suits, came together for a seminar on asylum law. Catie Coulter, who is an attorney affiliated with the Immigration Services Division of Catholic Charities of Tulsa, told of how that office is one of the few in Eastern Oklahoma that  provides  legal representation to immigrants of modest means  who are seeking political asylum, and that it set up a program in which attorney who volunteered to provide such representation to  its clients would receive training in that field of law in three sessions that will occur over the next several weeks in exchange. Those volunteers will also be supplied lunch prior to each individual session. The first session began with a presentation  on asylum  delivered by attorney   Robert Messerli,  who told of  how asylum is a form of humanitarian  relief for individuals who have suffered persecution or have a well founded fear of  being persecuted  if they were forced to return  to their native land based on five protected grounds: their race, religion, nationality, political opinion  or membership in a particular social group. He further detailed that there are two types of asylum, affirmative and defensive . Affirmative asylum is reserved for an individual who has entered the U.S.  and is not in removal proceeding before the Immigration Court, and those parties are required to submit an asylum application to the  Houston Asylum Office, and officials there either approve the application or refer the case to an Immigration Judge. The latter category is for people who are already in Immigration Court  in removal proceedings, and now includes individuals who have been detained at the border and been issued expedited removal orders. To initiate an asylum application they have to file an asylum application at the Immigration Court that has jurisdiction over their case, which for Oklahoma is the one located in Dallas, Texas, and the judge assigned to their case will issue a ruling on their asylum case after they have had the opportunity to present witnesses and other evidence in  support of their application. The attorney also distributed  the asylum section of volume prepared by the National Immigrant Justice Center to the attendees  that set forth in great detail the legal requirements to obtain asylum and provided guidance on how to attain it for a client. All such clients must prepare an asylum application, and Messerli said that its preparation is of critical importance, and that guidance on how to assist clients in preparing them will be addressed in the two future sessions. He also thanked the attendees for their willingness to assist those who are seeking asylum.

Italian Festival In Midwest City OK

Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra Impersonators Performing At The Festival.

Father  Fuller Stomping The Grapes.

Italian Pastries  Offered At The Festival.

An Italian Festival was held on the campus  of the St Phillip Neri Catholic Church and School  in Midwest City, Oklahoma, on Sunday, May 26^th, 2019. As the attendees entered the campus  they were given a map that detailed  the sites  of the various things  that  were being offered to them. They included a main stage where two singers performed as Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, and sang the songs and engaged in the on stage repartee that those two members of the Hollywood- Las Vegas Rat Pack of the 1960’s were known for at that time. Their polished and disciplined performances included references to Martin’s supposed fondness for alcohol and Sinatra’s numerous wives and  girlfriends and occasional acts of violence. It was said that in the 1960’s that an impersonator of television host Ed Sullivan began to resemble  Sullivan  to the point that  Sullivan was in effect doing an impersonation of him, and a somewhat  similar sentiment was generated by the  performances  that were done by those impersonators of the now  deceased Sinatra and Martin, who are now usually  only seen performing together   in grainy black and white film from  old network  television specials.  During a break in their act, the Frank Sinatra character said his real name is Joshua Vanover, and Dean Martin was  played by Michael Cooper, and that both performers are affiliated with the Yellow Rose Theater of Moore, Oklahoma. He  further said that they formerly had an African American character who performed as fellow Rat Pack member  Sammy Davis, Jr., but that his talent has recently taken  him to stages in New York City. They also sang several songs by other artists from that era, including Elvis Presley, Bobby Darrin, and Johnny Cash.  And the Dean Martin impersonater sang a song that paid tribute  to the members of the U.S. Armed Services who had made the ultimate sacrfice and reminded those present that on Memorial Day we  should remember their sacrifice. Several months before his tragic death, television chef Anthony Bourdain made a visit to London in the United Kingdom, and at what point while he was sitting in a pub he suddenly said that “Dean Martin was much cooler than Frank Sinatra,” which  may be  indicative of the role that  those two Italian- American  performers continue to  play in our  popular culture.
The map detailed how that at 1:00 P.M. the pastor of the church, Father Fuller, would began to stomp grapes that would eventually be made into wine at the grape stomping stage, and that for a small stipend other attendees could also participate in that process and also purchase a souvenir tee shirt that memorialized their doing so with a pair of stained  footprints. And after the cleric had concluded his brief stomping other guests waited patiently in line to  stomp grapes in a cheerful manner.
In an adjacent area, bottles of wine enclosed in silver cellophane bags that glistened in the sun were sold to attendees  that could be seen carrying them, and there was also a stand where Republic  National  Distributing Company and  Southern Glazer’s Wine And Spirits dispensed Italian  wine samples to attendees in disposable red cups that resembled shot glasses. The Elk Valley Brewing Company of Oklahoma City also sold cans of their distinctive beers to many of those present  who may have tired of drinking  the numerous wine samples.
Inside the St. Phillip Neri School structure  was a large image of an Italian wedding cake that was adorned with layers of canoli and other Italian pastries  that could be purchased and a fountain where Italian cream sodas could be made to order. In the cafeteria there was a feast of Italian food that also allowed those who chose to pay the admission price  and drink two glasses of wine.
The map that was distributed described the  gathering  as a “2019 Inaugural Italian Festival,” and the success of the event  will surely result in it becoming an annual event.

Nigerian Association Meeting In OKC

The  Egba-Yewa people are a subgroup of the Yoruba people   of Nigeria, and the Egba-Yewa  National  Association of  the U.S.A. and Canada  held their  Biennial National Convention in  Oklahoma City at a facility located off  the Northwest Highway in Oklahoma City on the evening  of Saturday, May 25^th, 2019. The program that was distributed to the attendees indicated that the event was hosted by the Egba-Yewa Descendants Association of Oklahoma. That document included pictures of numerous families in the Oklahoma City area who congratulated the association for its thirty one years of operation as well as similar congratulations from  Nigerian individuals and entities, some of them from different ethnic groups,  from other parts of the nation as well as Canada. Several businesses in Oklahoma also extended  congratulations .   The program also told of the history of the Egba region, and told it how it was an independent state  founded in 1830, and while its independence was initially   recognized by the British colonial authorities, it was gradually absorbed into what was then the British  colony of Nigeria but its king stayed in place with his powers curtailed.
Most  of the adult  attendees wore colorful robes and headwear, and greeted one another in a spirited manner in the Yoruba language, but most of the children who accompanied them were dressed in casual attire of the type that made them indistinguishable from other Oklahoma City residents of their age.  And while the event began officially at 8:00 PM, people made their way to the event throughout the evening The master of ceremonies was a energetic woman in bright pink attire who sang the names of many of those present and went from table to table as she did so.  She recognized visitors from Houston, Texas, and Canada who were present and spoke of the solidarity of the Yoruba speaking people. The national anthem of the U.S., Canada,  Nigeria and Egba  were sung and the latter song   prompted most of those present to dance as they sang the words in a joyous and energetic manner. The emcee  also spoke of things in Yoruba that elicited laughter and applause from the attendees. A variety of people were called to  what was described as the “main table”  and were lauded  for their efforts on behalf of the community.
In recognition of the two major religions in the Yoruba community, both a Christian and  a Muslim prayer were said that both asked God to  bless those present.  A considerable amount of fundraising took place at the urging of the emcee,  and women carrying silver trays made their way  around the tables and people  placed cash donations on them and received red and blue ribbons that were pinned on their shirts in recognition of their contributions . Spicy Nigerian food was served as well, and soft drinks and bottles of  blackberry  wine were in place on every table. The few people present who were not of African descent were warmly greeted by the other guests and were made to feel welcome.

May Meeting Of the Immigration Law Section

Breanna Cary Making her Presentation To the Immigration Section Of The OBA.

In histories of the American Revolution   students read about  Lafayette, Von Steuben, Kosciusko, and    other  foreign soldiers who  chose to fight  with the army  of George Washington. And  until 2016, the U.S. Military has  a program in place  that allowed foreigners who were already in the nation to join the Armed Forces for a period of four years  and be granted U.S. citizenship in exchange for doing so.  That program was designated the “Military Accession Vital To National Interest” and was known by the acronym “MAVNI.” The Trump Administration  has recently initiated a policy of discharging some of those  foreign nationals from the  U.S. Military due to the ties that they have maintained with their native lands and    unless they have some other basis for remaining in the U.S. they are forced to return home.    Since  many  of those who have been discharged   were originally from nation’s hostile to the U.S., such as the Peoples Republic of China, the Russian Federation and Iran,  some of those discharged have filed for asylum with the U.S. Immigration Court on the grounds that they would be subject to persecution if they were  forced to return home. And  their dilemma  was the subject of a  presentation given by Breanna Cary at the May meeting  of the Immigration Section of the Oklahoma Bar Association.  In March 2019, the attendees were told,  it was reported in the Washington Post that the U.S. Army had inadvertently  released   information  about those military recruits  that included  background information  such as their   social security numbers and other private data. In addition,  as recent events have indicated, both Russia and China have proven to be adept at  hacking into American records and computers and may already have access to information regarding those former military personnel and their families.  It has also been reported that the Chinese government has  successfully hacked into the records of the   Office of Personnel Management in Washington D.C. Cary reminded  her listeners that individuals are required to file for political asylum within one year of their entry in the U.S., but allows exceptions to that requirement for “changed circumstances.”   Asylum applicants must demonstrate a “well founded fear” of persecution if they were forced to return to their native lands, and one MANVI participant has been  indicted for allegedly releasing information regarding that program to the Chinese government. The immigration lawyer said that the discharge process begins with the  foreign national’s  receipt of what is known as “ Military Service Suitability Recommendation”  that contains information  concerning the recipients alleged  unsuitability for U.S.  military service, and that he or she has thirty days to respond to those allegations, and can seek to rebut those assertions by obtaining letters from their immediate superiors as well as their  military co-workers.
But if they are unable to rebut those allegations and are discharged, Cary reported, they should consider filing for asylum if the believe they will be subject to persecution in their homeland for their service in the U.S. Military.

Mental Health Event At Will Rogers Theater In OKC

The Mental Health Association  Oklahoma held a fashion and talent show at the Will Rogers Theater in Oklahoma City on the evening of May 16^th, 2019. The attendees who filled the theater were welcomed by  the  co chairs of the event, Gail Israel and Lori Warton, who  thanked them for their attendance and their support for  efforts to improve access to mental healthcare in the state. They further told of how  different organizations that work with individuals suffering from mental illness and substance abuse problems have selected the people who will be performing on the theater’s stage as either performers or models. Kristy Boone served as emcee, and she reminded the attendees of the first such event that was held in October of last year at the Paramount Theater in the Film Row area of Oklahoma City and  said that the success of that event  prompted the Mental Health  Association to sponsor another one. The performances began when two women from a drug treatment organization,  A Chance To Change  made their way onto the stage amidst the applause of the attendees.  The Hope  Community Services  sent three women onto the stage and one of them sung a heartfelt rendition of  Celine Dion’s “Power of the Dream.”
The Neighborhood Services Organization sponsored four performers that included  two  who read an original writings, and  two  who sang.
The Lottie House, which is a place in Oklahoma City that is operated by the Mental Health Association of Oklahoma where the mentally ill can come together, sent a group of models to the stage who were greeted enthusiastically by the attendees, and several of them sang and one read a poem.
The Re-Merge Program works with women who were possibly facing prison sentences due to their addictions, and  their six models strode across the stage  in a confident and cheerful manner that won the approval of the audience.
The Sanctuary Women’s Development Center of Catholic Charities that assists women who are homeless sent a trio of females onto the stage as well.
The gathering also featured  an art exhibition and sale,  and  A Chance To Change offered the work of Lori Heath, the Mental Health Association  Oklahoma displayed the paintings of Adrian Smith and Jason Gandara, and the Hope Community Services offered paintings done by Lisa Brunner. After the performances concluded, many of the attendees could be seen studying  work of those artists, and several  purchases were made. Those individual works reflected  the creative process of each of the artists, and one brightly colored work by Jason Gandara  appeared to be untitled, but the artist explained that it was inspired by Mardi Gras.
The program that was given to the attendees included a back page titled “With Special Thanks” that listed the individuals and entities that had supported the event and among the names listed was Jessie and Mark O’Brien of Dallas, Texas, who had made a financial contribution to fund the project. It further advised that stories and pictures from the show could be viewed at http://www.mhaok.org/blog.

OKC Mayor Holt’s Welcoming Address At Ramadan Dinner

Histories of New York City often tell of how the colorful mayor of the Big Apple, Fiorello La Guardia, read the comics that were enclosed in newspapers there   to children from a radio station during a newspaper delivery workers strike that occurred  in 1945. And since taking office Oklahoma  City’s current mayor, David Holt, has read to his city’s children in a less publicized manner by reading books to kindergarten students at schools on Fridays  throughout the city. The books he reads to the pupils remain in the libraries  of the  educational institutions that he has visited courtesy of the Junior League of Oklahoma City, and that undertaking will begin again when the city’s schools come into session in the Fall and will continue until he has read to every kindergarten class in the city. La Guardia was an inclusive mayor who campaigned in a variety of the languages that were spoken in New York City’s neighborhoods  at that time, and often stated that all of the citizens of that metropolis would be treated equally under his administration. And whole  Holt may be a less colorful leader  than La Guardia, he  has proven to be an equally inclusive  mayor as chief executive of Oklahoma’s capital city.  Homeless people  are a seemingly constant presence in different  parts of  Oklahoma City, and Holt has assembled a task force composed   of agencies and individuals to develop a comprehensive method of dealing with that issue and he has toured facilities that over assistance to the homeless to show his support for their work. Over the past several decades Oklahoma City has become home to many Hispanic residents, and on the recent  Mexican holiday of Cinco de Mayo the mayor  sent greetings to them, and he has publicly embraced the Oklahoma City’s City Council’s first openly gay member, James Cooper, to that body.  The Muslim holy month of Ramadan began last week, and in keeping with tradition  the Oklahoma chapter of the Council of American Islamic Relations hosted an event on May 11,2019 that consisted of a dinner that was served after the sun set  pursuant  to Islamic law that prohibits eating and drinking during the daylight hours during Ramadan. In the address he made at that gathering, Holt noted the various elected officials that were present that included state legislators, city councilmen, county commissioners, and chief executives from neighboring suburban communities as he welcomed the attendees. He welcomed everyone present to Oklahoma City, and said that there are all welcome here, and stated that the community he leads is an increasingly  diverse place and that all religions are welcome here, and that the city wants to be thought of around the world as a place that welcomes people, and ended  his remarks with the Muslim greeting “Ramadan Mubarak.”

Oklahoma Main Street Banquet Of 2019 In OKC

“Deutschland, Deutschland uber alles, uber alles in der Welt””- “ Germany, Germany above all in the world,” was the opening words to the song that was sung as Adolph Hitler and his entourage entered the stadium in Berlin in 1936  where the Olympic games that Germany hosted were being held.
And in recent months, attorneys who have travelled to the community of Okmulgee in Oklahoma to represent clients in  televised hearings that are being held  at an ICE holding facility located there  before the US Immigration Court based in Dallas,  Texas, have confronted signs in the downtown area of that community that  ominously proclaimed “Okmulgee Rising,” and many of those signs are in blocks there  that are undergoing revitalization  and feature workmen entering formerly moribund structures brandishing tools  that are utilized to convert buildings into contemporary stores and residential lofts. But those signs  do not reflect any aggressive intent on the part of Okmulgee but are instead a statement of pride  on the part of that community in the renaissance  that it  has undergone under the guidance of the Main  Street program that is based there.
And   in the 30^th Annual Main Street Dinner that was held in Oklahoma City on the evening of May 7^th, 2019, Okmulgee was honored for some of the undertakings that that have resulted in its downtown’s rebirth, that included a transformed Post Office structure that now provides housing for students at the neighboring OSU facility there and an outdoor fitness court  that allows  residents to exercise in a public area. The honorees, which were submitted by the state’s local Main  Street entities to the Main Street headquarters that is operated  under the auspices of the  Oklahoma Department of Commerce,   included a variety of imaginative and innovative undertakings that are transforming those communities, much in the manner of how  areas of both Oklahoma City and Tulsa have been reborn  in recent years.  And neighborhoods in both of those municipalities have seen fit to affiliate with the Main Street program, and were recognized for the improvements that they have made in their individual communities, that included an “Ale Trail” that takes participants to the three   breweries that have recently been opened  in the Kendall Whittier area in Tulsa.  The Enid Main Street was recognized for the pedestrian kiosks that it has put in place that list the locations of  the new undertakings that are now found there, and they resembled the maps of the London Underground that are found throughout the United Kingdom’s capital city. Other nominees were indicative of the investments that individuals are prepared to invest in the Main  Street communities, as exemplified by the more than $300,000 that a party saw fit to expend a structure in McAlester, the Venue, that had not been fully in use for more than half a century.
In recent years, murals have become a fixture in many areas throughout the nation, and the Claremore Main Street organization was honored for its murals as well as an innovative music program that brings songs to its downtown.  The Guymon Main Street, which has previously been recognized for its annual African Street Festival, has built on that undertakings success by creating a new program that features  meals that reflect food from the world’s seven continents that are followed by presentations  by individuals from each of the nation’s whose cuisine was featured.
The dinner was presided over by Buffy Hughes of the Main Street headquarters and Ron Frantz, who formerly served as architect for the program and is now affiliated with the University of Oklahoma.
As the  winners of the awards were announced, applause filled the room and the victors beamed with pride. And all of the attendees seemed to be proud of the work done by their individual entities as shown by the festive atmosphere that characterized the gathering.

Former Mayor Norick And Mayor David Holt At Old School Bagel Cafe In OKC

In the early 1970’s, an esteemed restaurant in the city of New Orleans that formally opened at midday would begin to come to life in the morning hours with employees in white uniforms coming into the establishment often carrying freshly brought vegetables that would be making their way into the steaming pots  on large stoves  in the large kitchen of the place. Several cheerful  African American women would be talking to the other employees  present in an affectionate manner before they began to  vacuum the different rooms there, and would explain that they “were choking the alligator” as they moved their machines over the carpet. But on occasion, one dining room would be occupied by several men  at a table, and often food would be prepared for them and brought to them by one of the establishment’s managers who were not usually seen carrying plates.
And when one employee said to his  supervisor that one of those individuals resembled a prominent political leader who was frequently in the news, he was sternly told that  the restaurant did not open until lunch time and that he had not seen anyone in the dining room prior to that time.
And more recently,  a less  sinister  gathering was observed at the Old School Bagel Café on May Avenue in Oklahoma City  where  former  Oklahoma City Mayor Ron  Norick and current Mayor David Holt,  were observed  immersed   in conversation at a table.
Ron  Norick who served three consecutive terms as chief executive,  was a transformational leader of Oklahoma’s capital city, and  was largely responsible for approval of the  MAPS Program that transformed Oklahoma City’s downtown  and warehouse district into the vibrant locales that they are today.
He also showed a willingness to listen to views that were at variance with his own and was often able to bring diverse  people together in his efforts  to improve the city, and   displayed strong but  calm  leadership in the aftermath of the bombing of the Murrah Building in 1995.  And  David  Holt, who began his political career as a Republican state legislator, has displayed a    gift for public leadership that was shown when he embraced the  first openly gay member of the Oklahoma City Council,  James  Cooper,  to that body. He also extended holiday greetings to the city’s Muslim community to commemorate the start of the holy month of Ramadan earlier today.
Holt spoke of one of the major challenges facing Oklahoma City at a presentation at a luncheon  gathering that was convened  by the Oklahoma Conference of Churches. He told of how that virtually every chief executive of the city  has been  a white man from  North Oklahoma City, and that the commissions and board that oversee much of the municipality’s governing are overwhelming staffed with white men.
But a  majority of the city’s school children are nonwhite, and that in the decades to come the city’s leadership will become more racially and ethnically diverse as a result.  Holt  explained that the main conference room at City Hall was filled with portraits of the city’s former mayors, and  that he has had those images reviewed and had them replaced with pictures of young people from Oklahoma City that reflects it’s current  diversity.
And it is possible that  Holt was seeking Norick’s counsel and advise because he would like to leave a  similarly generous  public  legacy to Oklahoma City and it’s citizenry.

Holocaust Memorial Event At Bishop McGuinness High School In OKC

A Holocaust Remembrance  Day event  sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Greater Oklahoma City was held at Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School in  Oklahoma City on the afternoon of May 5^th, 2019
As the attendees made their way into the auditorium where they event was held they were given, along with programs, a piece of paper with the name of one of the six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust and were told that they would be asked to read that name when the Jewish prayer for the dead, the Kaddish was  recited later in the  memorial. The gathering began with an introduction by Pamela Anderson of the Jewish Federation, who explained that young people present would tell the stories of Holocaust survivors who eventually made their way to Oklahoma and the relatives that they lost due to it, and that a group of other young people would light candles of remembrance for the survivors and those that they lost.  The Catholic Archbishop of Oklahoma City, Paul  Coakley, also addressed the attendees and told them that the Archdiocese was proud to be a sponsor of the event and that it was the second year that it had done so, and that  all of those present   had a duty to fight against violence and discrimination that is directed against minorities,  and that  people of faith must work together for that purpose.
Abraham Foxman, who was formerly the national director of the   Anti- Defamation League  was the main speaker, and his presentation was titled “ Testimony Of a Hidden Child.” He told of how he was born to a Jewish family in Poland who had fled to Lithuania after the Nazis had conquered  that nation. When  the Germans occupied Lithuania and ordered all Jews living in that city to assemble at a designated area, the nursemaid who cared for him persuaded his parents to leave him with her. She maintained, at great peril to herself, that he was a Polish child and even had him baptized to support that assertion when he was under two years old. She cared for him throughout the Second World War until his parents returned to Poland and took him back . Foxman said that all of the individuals who performed similar acts would later say that they were not heroes or courageous people, but just did what was right and what they thought that they should do to protect the Jews and other groups that the Nazis had targeted for extinction.
He also detailed the “Hidden Children” gatherings that have been held over the years and said that he was unique in that he was the only one who was fortunate to have had both his parents survive and reunite with him, and that most of the other  Jewish children who had been hidden had been girls. It has been estimated that more than 1.5 million Jewish children were killed by the Nazis.
While he did not go into great detail, there was apparently friction between Foxman’s  parents and the former nursemaid as to who would have custody of him, since his parents had to obtain a court order to have him returned to them. But when he and his  parents escaped Communist  Poland after the war and made their way to the U.S.  they did so with  fraudulent documents that indicated that they were stateless people of Turkish heritage and that he had to pretend to be a deaf and dumb child because he did not speak the Turkish language. But Foxman discussed how his father insisted on the family taking with them pictures of the nursemaid who had saved him, despite the fact that if they were discovered the Polish authorities would know that they were in fact  Polish, since he wanted his son to be able to “look at her face for the rest of my life.”
And when Foxman later met Pope John Paul II, who was a native of Poland as well, he asked him to pray for the soul of  that nursemaid who could barely read and write.
The former Anti-Defamation League director also told the audience to be wary of political leaders who seek to demonize minority groups. After Foxman concluded his presentation  Oklahoma City Rabbis Veered Harris and Abby Jacobson  led those  in attendance in reciting the Kaddish  and  the names of the Holocaust victims that they had been given  were read aloud in  recognition of their lost lives.

The Plaza District Of Oklahoma City

Wall Mural  Of Denise Duong

Actor Jeremy Benton Who Will Be Performing At Lyric Theater.

Masks On Display At Folk Art In Plaza District.

On a recent Saturday  a diverse group of people made their way through 16^th Street in the Plaza District of Oklahoma City, and many of them could be seen studying the colorful murals that are found on some of the walls there. A sign on the brick wall  there welcomes people to the Plaza District Walls, and explains that  it constitutes  a rotating public art project  for artists to   display their contemporary and modern street art styles, and that is curated by a small collective of Oklahoma City artists.  They  include works by the esteemed Oklahoma City Asian American artist  Denise Duong,  whose bright  colors and  seemingly melancholy  female images have brought her recognition  in  art forums in  several different locales in recent years. There were also bright images of figures from popular culture such as a  cigarette smoking Krusty the clown from the Simpsons television show.
An individual who  said that he  has recorded  street murals in other cities, Jeremy Benton, was observed filming there,  and he  expressed his admiration for the artistic quality of those murals,  and  explained that he is an actor from New York City, and that he is currently in Oklahoma City because he will be a character in the production of “Singin’ In The Rain” that will be performed  at the Lyric Theater in the Plaza District later this year. That classic musical  film   detailed how Hollywood actors and filmmakers dealt with the transition from silent to talking films. And Benton was in town now to film the silent scenes  that will be part of  the production, and said that his part was said to be based on the great silent star Douglas Fairbanks, Sr.  The actor also said that he has been impressed by the professionalism of the staff and actors he has dealt with at the Lyric, as well as the friendliness of the people he has encountered in Oklahoma City and that he looks forward to performing at that theater.    The Plaza Walls Gallery, which recently opened there,  features the work of  renowned Austin, Texas street artist Mathew Rodriguez, and the  sign posted about him told of how he began  his career in the Lone Star State’s capital as a young graffiti artist, and  that he has inspired other artists around the world, and that one of his murals   is now in place on  the Plaza District Walls.
The  Plaza is also home to the  Folk Life store that features an eclectic collection of folk art from around the world that includes hand painted  movie posters from Nigeria, Ghana, and Romania where such posters are often still hand painted in an artistic manner. The establishment’s owner, Shelley States, told of how she studied anthropology while a college student in  Austin Texas, and that she developed an interest in folk art as a result.  The  walls and shelves of her place  are filled with masks from Asia, Africa, and Central  and South America  as well as other items, including pottery,  that reflect her  diverse interests.  Several months ago, the New York Times featured a series of pictures of men’s barber shops in West Africa, that told of the different cultural traditions that they reflected. The Folk Life’s walls also include several hand painted signs for West African barbershops that are also indicative of the various cultures that are found there.
And  a piece of seemingly vanished Americana is found in the Plaza, where Roxy’s Ice Cream Social  recreates the  soda and ice cream fountains that were   part of American life in the decades after the Second World War, with patrons sitting at the counter on swivel stools and ordering root beer floats, sundaes, and soft drinks, and now are normally only found in films and television productions from or about  that era. But it would seem that the numerous children who seem to be enjoying swiveling around on those stools  with their friends as they devour ice cream   are oblivious to the history  that Roxy’s is paying homage to.