Race and inequity in Oklahoma

Ari Fife

Ari Fife covers issues of race and equity across the state for Oklahoma Watch, a nonprofit investigative newsroom based in Oklahoma City. A recent graduate of the University of Oklahoma, she holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism with minors in political science and international studies. While there, Fife worked for the OU Daily, the student publication, as a senior reporter, managing editor and summer editor-in-chief, and she interned at The Frontier, a nonprofit investigative newsroom in Oklahoma. Fife has studied Spanish for about seven years and is eager to improve her skills.

Oklahoma Watch

Oklahoma Watch is a statewide investigative news organization created in late 2010. Our staple is in-depth, data-driven stories and we distribute our content to about 100 news outlets around the state for republication for free. Increasingly we are developing multimedia content with video, stills and interactive tables or data visualizations. We also hold public forums on critical issues and we bring on college interns in journalism and public relations to dig into the severe human-needs problems that afflict our state.

Lionel Ramos

Lionel Ramos covers race and inequity for Oklahoma Watch, a nonprofit investigative news outlet in Oklahoma City. Ramos recently graduated with a bachelor's degree in English from Texas State University, where he reported for The University Star, covering Black students' perspectives on the voting process ahead of the 2020 election, and more. While earning his associate degree at San Antonio College, Ramos wrote for The Ranger, a student publication, including a story about a statistics class that discovered misleading language explaining the odds of winning the Texas lottery, which led to the lottery commission changing the wording. As the stats professor told Ramos in an interview: “Lottery is government; you ought to have truth in government.” Born into a circus family, Ramos has traveled all over the U.S., Mexico and Canada and is a first-generation American.

Oklahoma Watch

Oklahoma Watch is a statewide investigative news organization created in late 2010. Our staple is in-depth, data-driven stories and we distribute our content to about 100 news outlets around the state for republication for free. Increasingly we are developing multimedia content with video, stills and interactive tables or data visualizations. We also hold public forums on critical issues and we bring on college interns in journalism and public relations to dig into the severe human-needs problems that afflict our state.

Oklahoma Watch

Oklahoma Watch is a statewide investigative news organization created in late 2010. Our staple is in-depth, data-driven stories and we distribute our content to about 100 news outlets around the state for republication for free. Increasingly we are developing multimedia content with video, stills and interactive tables or data visualizations. We also hold public forums on critical issues and we bring on college interns in journalism and public relations to dig into the severe human-needs problems that afflict our state.