As an Oklahoman, I feel obligated to defend my state from the attacks made by Charles Barkley in a recent interview of Hornets star Chris Paul.  For those who are not familiar with the jabs Barkley took, he informed Paul that Oklahoma was "no place for black people" (hypothesizing that the only brothers were the OU Sooners and the Hornets), and teased the rookie about living in a "vast wasteland" and having "chickens and cows" in his yard.

The "chickens and cows" comment is not surprising.  My state is mostly unknown through much of the country.  Back in the day when I would spend my time chatting with strangers on AOL Instant Messenger, I would get asked by people from other parts of the country if I rode a horse to school.  The thing is, they seriously believed this was a common practice.  Oklahoma's tourism department has done nothing to dispell such an image.  Brochures and commercials crafted to beckon outsiders accentuate the open praries, Native American reservations (which are much more modern than the images they choose), and the Cowboy Hall of Fame.  It is no wonder people still think the state north of Texas still looks like a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical.

Regardless, Sir Charles stereotyping us based on this image annoys me.  I mean, how would he feel if classified his home state based on the mental images it conjured in me.  As a native of Alabama (a state he talks of governing some day), Barkley's home makes me think of plantations and lynchings.

Which brings me to the question of Oklahoma being a "place for black people."  Having taken Oklahoma history as a required class at my Oklahoma City high school that had a student body consisting of approximately 70% African-Americans, I know that the state of Oklahoma has never allowed its residents to own black people.  That makes it pretty unique for states on this side of the Mason-Dixon line.  In fact, this posed a problem to the state's founding fathers.  The United States hesitated to allow statehood because Oklahoma's entrance into the union would have given "non-slave" states a majority of senators.  Breaking that tie was not something the Southern states would accept because they did not want Congress to outlaw slavery.  At one point, the territory was nearly split into two states, Sequoia and Oklahoma, in order to assure that the Senate would not be tipped.

My high school make-up alone pretty much takes care of Barkley's assessment of the state's African-American population being limited to the Sooner football team and the Hornets players.  Really, though, is Oklahoma City more white bread than other NBA cities.  Using census data, I have found that 12.3% of the total population of the United States of America is of African decent.  The population of Oklahoma City is 15.6% black (compared to 7.6% of the state on the whole).  That figure places OKC at 21st out of 29 NBA cities (there are two teams in Los Angeles).  On the whole there is a large range.  Detroit is 81.6% black while about 2% of Salt Lake City is African-American.  Most interesting, however, is that the second whitest city in the NBA happens to be where Barkley spent his best years in the league, Phoenix.  Sir Charles is not on record as calling Arizona a bad place for people of color.

Even without the history, I would argue that Oklahoma is a great place for anyone to live.  Cost of living is low, crime is minimal, traffic is bearable, winters are tame, the people are incredibly nice, and a disproportionate number of beautiful women live here.  (That last one was geared more to the fellas.)  No matter what your ethnicity, such things should be attractive in choosing a place to call home.

The realistic side of me knows I should not be giving any weight to Barkley's snide commentary.  If it were anywhere else, and any other blogger were taking him to task, I would be saying, "learn to take a joke."  Mostly, I should have been prepared.  When I first learned that Oklahoma would be hosting the Hornets, he was one of the first concerns that occured to me.  Certainly, becoming a "big league town" was great for the place I call home, but I knew the media would not be happy coming into a place that lacked the glitz and glamour most major league franchises operated from.  After watching him lobby the Mavericks to beat the Spurs two seasons ago for fear that TNT would make him broadcast from San Antonio, I knew he could be brutal for a place's image.

On the other hand, this could be great for the state.  Backlash against Barkley's race baiting will raise Oklahoma's profile and get it defended.  Governor Brad Henry has escalated it into a war of words, saying "Obviously, Charles Barkley doesn't know what he's talking about.  Anyone who follows Barkley knows he's notorious for saying ridiculous things that have no basis in fact, and this case is a perfect example."  A plethora of invitations have been sent to the former NBA star and current television analyst including all-expense paid offers from a local television station, and the Oklahoma City chamber of commerce.  Thus far, Barkley has resisted, insisting that Oklahoma is not on his list of places to visit.  In the end he may have no choice in the matter.  With another win tonight, the Hornets are currently slated as the sixth seed in the Western Conference playoffs.  After a season in which the NBA did not put any Hornets on national television, TNT may have to send Charles to commentate from the Oklahoma Ford Center.

We will make sure to have some cow and chickens ready for his hotel room.