Small Oklahoma city engulfed in turmoil after openly gay mayor resigns amid claims of being harassed

On Monday, The Washington Post reported on how Adam Graham, the mayor of The Village, Oklahoma and one of only six LGBTQ elected officials in the state, was forced into resigning by what he describes as a campaign of harassment and threats.

The uproar, wrote Danielle Paquette, began when Graham saw a Black motorist being pulled over by local police from nearby Nichols Hills for driving over the speed limit, and intervened to make sure the stop didn't involve any racial profiling.

"On that late May evening, Graham, 29, said he slowed to a halt in his black SUV, lowered the window and asked: 'What are you doing, officers? Are you aware that you’re in The Village?'" said the report. "What happened next fiercely divided this community of nearly 9,000, drawing international scrutiny that felt humiliating to some and cathartic to others as simmering frustrations burst into the open. Oklahoma lost one of its six LGBTQ elected officials when Graham announced this month he was stepping down, citing harassment and fear for his safety."

According to the report, following that incident, Graham says he was subject to harassment everywhere, with one person tailing him in the street, another throwing coffee at him while shouting an anti-gay slur, and another slashing his tires — and the city council itself was angered over Graham's actions.

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"Most of The Village’s city council members thought Graham should apologize — or at least issue a statement explaining himself," said the report. "They found the actions outlined in the email inappropriate, even dangerous, and feared losing backup from Nichols Hills. The two cities had long helped each other out, and The Village had maybe three officers on patrol at any given time. 'He distracted them when he did that,' one council member, 75-year-old C. Scott 'Bubba' Symes, said. 'In my mind, anything could have happened.'"

"According to data shared by the Nichols Hills police, 30 percent of people who received citations and warnings in Nichols Hills from June 30 of last year to July 1 were Black, despite the city being less than one percent Black," said the report. "Cox said officers don’t stop vehicles based on race or 'any other reason than a violation of law,' adding that a diverse population drives through Nichols Hills, which borders Oklahoma’s biggest city."

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