We are the Oklahoma Center for Community and Justice, better known to our friends and donors as OCCJ. We are a human relations organization dedicated to achieving respect and understanding for all people through education, advocacy and dialogue. Stated another way — we fight bias, bigotry and racism in all its forms.

Prejudice often comes from a lack of education and experience with people who are different from us, or from stereotyping and misinformation. At OCCJ, we endeavor to break down those barriers through educational programs that demonstrate our commonalities, rather than focusing on the ways in which we differ. Yes, we do differ — in color, in ethnicity, in race, sexual orientation and a myriad of other ways. But if we use those differences to build a stronger community by utilizing all our individual talents and experiences, we can be much stronger as a whole.

OCCJ targets individuals at all stages of life, beginning with Different and the Same, a program for second graders in Tulsa and surrounding elementary schools. Other programs include anti-bullying at middle school levels and a summer camp called Camp Anytown, focusing on diversity issues for high school students. We offer interfaith programs for teens and adults, and diversity and inclusion training for corporate settings. We partner with numerous others in the community on programs such as the Say No to Hate Coalition, and Tulsa Unites. Because our efforts are gaining traction statewide, we are actively establishing a presence in Oklahoma City and elsewhere.

In short, we simply work to make our state a better place to live and to do business.