Last Updated on November 6, 2023, 9:49 PM | Published: November 6, 2023
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma Pride Alliance hosted the inaugural Oklahoma Rainbow Awards Gayla November 4 at Tower Theatre. This event aimed to recognize and celebrate the efforts of local leaders, activists, and community groups making a significant impact in the 2SLGBTQ+ community.
The Oklahoma Pride Alliance (OPA) is a nonprofit organization that aims to connect and celebrate Oklahoma’s 2SLGBTQ+ community. They work alongside organizations specializing in youth services, health, mental health, transitional housing, and more. OPA hosts PrideFest annually at Scissortail Park and organizes various events throughout the year, including Pride on the Plaza, Youth Pride Nights at Factory Obscura, and ongoing events with deadCenter Film.
OPA officials have presented the Rainbow Awards for the past four years. Previously, the winners were announced during opening ceremonies at Pride or the Pride Town Hall. This year, they decided to host a larger event to honor the Rainbow Award winners properly.
“Since I’ve started getting involved with the OPA, the Rainbow Awards have always been something that has stood out to me,” OPA President Kylan Durant said. “It’s a really great time to honor leaders and also provide visibility to Queer leaders. For me, I always looked up to these people.”
The Rainbow Awards feature eight awards that correspond to the eight colors of the Pride Flag, which Gilbert Baker designed in the 1970s at the request of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man elected to public office. Each color of the flag has unique symbolism to the Queer community.
“People feel a real sense of pride in our Pride flag,” Durant said. “It was a very uniting force for our community in that time, and it’s such a symbol to the fight now. When we’re honoring these people, they’re all symbols of that fight.”
The Rainbow Awards Gayla offers a wide variety of categories, including “serenity” and “nature,” representing indigo and green on the 2SLGBTQ+ flag. This inclusivity makes the awards accessible to those who aren’t just performers or politicians.
“These colors are like heartbeats in our community,” Durant said.
The Rainbow Awards were open to public nomination, giving community members a chance to nominate anyone of their choosing, not just across Oklahoma City, but across the entire state. Just this summer, the Oklahoma Pride Alliance expanded from their previous title of “Oklahoma City Pride Alliance” furthering their reach across the state.
Image 1050 – Attendees applaud winners at the inaugural Rainbow Awards Gayla
Celebration
The event began with a welcoming from Durant followed by the first performance of the night from Mae Lynn, a storyteller who made her debut at PrideFest this year.
Then Mataia Blackwell won the first award of the night – the “Hot Pink” category, symbolizing sex education and sex positivity. Blackwell is the program manager at Freedom Oklahoma.
“The work that I’m doing is important even if it’s not visible,” Blackwell said during her acceptance speech.
OPA officials announced Laura Lang as the winner of the “Red” category, symbolizing “life.” Lang is the CEO of Honestly: Youth Sexual Health and is passionate about social justice and activism.
The crowd went wild when drag performer Nikita took the stage as the second performer, entering to Beyonce’s “Formation.” Then, Kelly Willingham, OPA’s secretary, announced the winner of the “Orange” category, symbolizing “healing,” along with a speech about the importance of the Rainbow Awards.
“I joined this organization to do everything I possibly can to create spaces that make our Queer Oklahomans feel safe and loved and embraced,” Willingham said. “We can all feel how special that is in the room tonight. It feels so incredible to honor the people doing the work.”
The winner of the “Orange” category was revealed as Dr. Russel Rooms, who is described as a “compassionate healthcare provider” providing gender-affirming care, STI testing, and other affirming care with Diversity Family Health.
“I recognized there was a need for the 2SLGBTQ+ community to find a place that they can receive healthcare in a place that is free of discrimination and bias,” Rooms said in his acceptance speech.
OPA members announced the winner of the “Yellow” category, symbolizing “sunlight,” meaning visibility. Shawnda Adams, news director at KOCO 5 News won the category for her work expanding visibility and celebration of Oklahoma’s 2SLGBTQ+ community.
“Those of you who are here tonight living as your most authentic selves, you’ve shown the real courage and have given those around you hope,” Adams said.
Drag performer Topatio took the stage as the third performer of the evening, taking the audience by storm.
Then OKPA members announced the winner of the next category – “Green,” symbolizing environmentalism and conservation. The winner was Kris Marek, who had a long career working as the director of Oklahoma State Parks.
Then Topatio took the stage once more to announce Laal Shams as the winner of the “Turquoise” category symbolizing “magic,” highlighting artists and creatives. Laal Shams is best known for her work as SoftHand, creating clothing funding and celebrating different movements like the Black Lives Matter movement, ROE fund, SHRED the Stigma, Medical Aid for Palestinians, and Oklahoma Trans Crowdfunding, and Freedom Oklahoma.
The OKC Ballet Studio Company took the stage with a moving performance featuring gender-neutral clothing and gender-swapped dancing roles.
Then the OPA marketing team announced Moss and Mike Abla as winners of the “Indigo” award, symbolizing “serenity.” Moss and Mike Abla have used their skills in self-defense to help train members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community through the company Inclusive Defense Training.
Durant announced the final award of the night, which went to Representative Mauree Turner, winner of the “Violet” award, symbolizing “spirit.”
“State Rep. Mauree Turner has devoted their life to fighting on the front lines for 2SLGBTQ+ Oklahomans,” Durant said. “This year, they were censured for providing sanctuary and protecting the constitutional rights of trans individuals and received death threats from extremists, all while seeing inadequate support from their legislative caucus members. Through all the hardship, they continue to spread Queer Joy.”
Turner took the stage after a standing ovation, sharing the hardships and the joys they’ve experienced as a queer person living in the state of Oklahoma.
2023 Rainbow Award Winners
- Mataia Blackwell – Hot Pink (Sex) (nominees – Conway Titty, Makellah McDaniel)
- Laura Lang – Red (Life) (nominees – Cody Knight, Cameron Collins, Drew Cook)
- Russell Rooms – Orange (Healing) (nominees – Terri Fleming, Christina Sommers)
- Shawnda Adams – Yellow (Sunlight AKA Visibility) (nominees – Ramona Waylon Diaz, Paula Schonauer)
- Kris Marek – Green (Nature AKA Environmentalism/Conservation) (nominees – Aleah Walker, Natalie Evans)
- Laal Shams – Turquoise (Magic AKA Art/Drag/Creatives/Artists) (nominees – Yoko Bagley, Kronie “SeacCubus” Khalil, AJ Stegall)
- Moss and Mike Abla – Indigo (Serenity) (nominees – Shae Sanders, Hayden Eagleston)
- Mauree Turner -Violet (Spirit) (nominees – Christina Wiestner, Meg Nance Coker)
The award winners gathered together for a final photo together, where winners could take comfort in the fact that their hard work for the 2SLGBTQ+ community was being recognized in a big way.
“It gives us a moment to recognize all of the people who have been here and been around and just haven’t had that recognition yet,” Durant said. “There’s just people who are doing work behind closed doors, and they’re not necessarily showing that they’re doing all this stuff because they might not have the platform.”
Actor, singer, and Tony nominee Joshua Henry closed out the Rainbow Awards Gayla with a moving acoustic performance. Henry is best known for his portrayal of Haywood Patterson in the Scottsboro Boys and the lead role of Aaron Burr in the first US tour of Hamilton.
The first ever Rainbow Awards Gayla came to a close embodying 2023 PrideFest’s theme of “Queer Joy: The Resistance,” adding another layer to celebrating Queer Joy by honoring the people in the state who are working to empower the 2SLGBTQ+ community through healthcare, art, politics, conservation, and so much more.
Zoe Travers has spent her career covering local musicians, artists, politicians, and everyday folks. She is also Oklahoma City’s most enthusiastic connoisseur of cheese danishes.
