[eddie gein]

Originally Posted by capcor

After reading this post, I would say you have never set foot in south eastern Oklahoma.

Lived in Poteau and Wilburton. and have been all over SE Oklahoma. However, I've also spent a fair time in Mississippi.

SE Oklahoma is too white to be like rural Mississippi. Idabel is probably the most African American of any town in Oklahoma. In Mississippi it would be one of the whitest towns in Mississippi. There is not enough black culture in SE Oklahoma for it to be "like" Mississippi. Outside of Idabel (25%) and Hugo (30%) there really aren't many blacks in SE Oklahoma.

[eddie gein]

Originally Posted by eddie gein

Lived in Poteau and Wilburton. and have been all over SE Oklahoma. However, I've also spent a fair time in Mississippi.

SE Oklahoma is too white to be like rural Mississippi. Idabel is probably the most African American of any town in Oklahoma. In Mississippi it would be one of the whitest towns in Mississippi. There is not enough black culture in SE Oklahoma for it to be "like" Mississippi. Outside of Idabel (25%) and Hugo (30%) there really aren't many blacks in SE Oklahoma.

I can't edit the previous post, but I would say that most of southestern Oklahoma is very much like SW Arkansas (not Mississippi) and the red river valley part is much like north Texas.

............just not Mississippi

[okie1962]

Originally Posted by eddie gein

I can't edit the previous post, but I would say that most of southestern Oklahoma is very much like SW Arkansas (not Mississippi) and the red river valley part is much like north Texas.

............just not Mississippi

I can't understand why there are some who think SE Oklahoma is the deep south? True it is a lot more southern like than the rest of Eastern Oklahoma but it is nothing like GA, AL or MS. When I think of the South, I think of quant towns with a stately antebellum homes, town squares and huge beautiful churches and historic buildings. By the time this part of Oklahoma was really settled that way of life had passed many years ago.

[Miami HurricaneZ]

Absolutely. Good to see a true Midwesterner set the record straight. Well
done.

Thanks man. I crack up when I hear people call Oklahoma the Midwest. I'm pretty impressed what I have learned from you and several others on this forum about Oklahoma. A few months ago, I told StillwaterTownie (I think I got his/her username right) that I knew all of Oklahoma wasn't flat and dusty. I knew it was somewhat diverse but had no idea how many different regions it had until coming on here. I actually post in the Oklahoma Forum more than any other forum. I've always liked Oklahoma for some odd reason. I hope to move to the Western part of the state one day.

[norman2012]

Originally Posted by Miami HurricaneZ

Coming from an outsider, I have done extensive research on Oklahoma and browsed numerous topics on it. I would not consider it South/Southwest/or Midwest. When I think of the Midwest, I think of Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois. ect. When I think of the South, I think of Arkansas, Louisiana, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, The Carolina's, Florida, Georgia, ect. When I think of the Southwest, I think of Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, ect. (I put Cali in a different category).

I would consider Oklahoma in the Southern Plains or in a category by its self.

Sincerely,

A Florida resident born in Ohio.

Sir a little over half of the state is in the plains. The eastern half is not. I live in the Ozark Mountains. In Oklahoma.

A sixth generation Oklahoman born in Denver (my father was stationed there during my birth).

[norman2012]

Originally Posted by eddie gein

Lived in Poteau and Wilburton. and have been all over SE Oklahoma. However, I've also spent a fair time in Mississippi.

SE Oklahoma is too white to be like rural Mississippi. Idabel is probably the most African American of any town in Oklahoma. ... Outside of Idabel (25%) and Hugo (30%) there really aren't many blacks in SE Oklahoma.

Two of the of the more ignorant (and racially insensitive) statements I've read on City-Data forums.
Following is a sampling of black majority towns in Oklahoma. Originally over 50 were settled as all black towns by freed slaves and their offspring. Followikng are the thirteen that remain. The populations of ALL of them are majority black. That doesn’t mean there exists just 13 Oklahoma with a bunch, or a majority, of blacks. These are just thirteen that you somehow failed to consider in your statement that Idabel is probably the most “African American” (whatever that is) in Oklahoma (which you correctly numbered at 25%)

Incorporated Towns
Langston – 92.3 % Black http://www.city-data.com/city/Langston-Oklahoma.html
Taft – 82% Black http://www.city-data.com/city/Taft-Oklahoma.html
Tatums – 78.1% Black http://www.city-data.com/city/Tatums-Oklahoma.html
Summit – 75.5% Black http://www.city-data.com/city/Summit-Oklahoma.html
Clearview – 75% http://www.city-data.com/city/Tatums-Oklahoma.html
Redbird – 67.9 Black http://www.city-data.com/city/Rentie...-Oklahoma.html
Tullahassee – 63% Black http://www.city-data.com/city/Tullahassee-Oklahoma.html
Grayson – 59.7% Black http://www.city-data.com/city/Tatums-Oklahoma.html

Unincorporated Towns
These are scattered throughout the state but thte one I have the most experience with is Vernon. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vernon,_Oklahoma My wifes family settled in
(and still remain) in McCintosh county prior to the Vernon settlement in 1911. I have been through there many times, I’ve never seen a white person that I can remember (even at gas stations, etc)

[norman2012]

Originally Posted by okie1962

I can't understand why there are some who think SE Oklahoma is the deep south? True it is a lot more southern like than the rest of Eastern Oklahoma but it is nothing like GA, AL or MS. When I think of the South, I think of quant towns with a stately antebellum homes, town squares and huge beautiful churches and historic buildings. By the time this part of Oklahoma was really settled that way of life had passed many years ago.

Sir / Maam
If you think of US region as large as the "south" in terms of architecture, you will remain perpetually confused in the field of geography (and architecture, at the least).

Would you really expect to see stately antebellum homes in the Appalachian Mountains (regardless of whether those Appalachians were in up north in Virginia or the Georgia Appalachians or Alabama Appalachians?

Would you expect to find town squares in areas that held 3 people per square mile (like Beaver County Oklahoma - where I resided during the birth of my second son)

Would you expect huge beautiful churches in areas that have an average income of 21000$ and a population of a thousand, like the Oklahoma town I grew up in (for the most part)?

And as for people thinking Oklahoma is the "deep south", I've never heard of anyone claiming that, it wasnt asked in this thread, and no one claimed so in this thread. There are similarities with the deep south, just like there are similarities with the rest of the southern states.

Even the deep southern architecture varies by physical geography and economics among many things. See above post regarding Georgia and Alabama mountain ranges.

Oklahoma is one of the most geographically diverse states in the nation.

[Bass&Catfish2008]

Originally Posted by norman2012

Sir / Maam
If you think of US region as large as the "south" in terms of architecture, you will remain perpetually confused in the field of geography (and architecture, at the least).

Would you really expect to see stately antebellum homes in the Appalachian Mountains (regardless of whether those Appalachians were in up north in Virginia or the Georgia Appalachians or Alabama Appalachians?

Would you expect to find town squares in areas that held 3 people per square mile (like Beaver County Oklahoma - where I resided during the birth of my second son)

Would you expect huge beautiful churches in areas that have an average income of 21000$ and a population of a thousand, like the Oklahoma town I grew up in (for the most part)?

And as for people thinking Oklahoma is the "deep south", I've never heard of anyone claiming that, it wasnt asked in this thread, and no one claimed so in this thread. There are similarities with the deep south, just like there are similarities with the rest of the southern states.

Even the deep southern architecture varies by physical geography and economics among many things. See above post regarding Georgia and Alabama mountain ranges.

Oklahoma is one of the most geographically diverse states in the nation.

The bold is definitely true. And the same goes for topography. I tend to think in cultural terms, not necessarily in terms of geography/topography, although I understand that topography influences culture on some level.

All major studies on Oklahoma have shown that it is culturally aligned with the Southern United States based on dialect/speech patterns, religious affiliation, a chunk of our history and settlement patterns, food consumption norms, and overall "feel" of the state. That is not to say that Oklahoma doesn't have some other influences, just that the primary contributors to Oklahoma's culture are Southern semblances.

[Bass&Catfish2008]

Originally Posted by Miami HurricaneZ

Thanks man. I crack up when I hear people call Oklahoma the Midwest. I'm pretty impressed what I have learned from you and several others on this forum about Oklahoma. A few months ago, I told StillwaterTownie (I think I got his/her username right) that I knew all of Oklahoma wasn't flat and dusty. I knew it was somewhat diverse but had no idea how many different regions it had until coming on here. I actually post in the Oklahoma Forum more than any other forum. I've always liked Oklahoma for some odd reason. I hope to move to the Western part of the state one day.

Well, c'mon to OkieLand!

You have the right kind of temperament and attitude that I think would work well here.

[okie1962]

Originally Posted by norman2012

Sir / Maam
If you think of US region as large as the "south" in terms of architecture, you will remain perpetually confused in the field of geography (and architecture, at the least).

Would you really expect to see stately antebellum homes in the Appalachian Mountains (regardless of whether those Appalachians were in up north in Virginia or the Georgia Appalachians or Alabama Appalachians?

Would you expect to find town squares in areas that held 3 people per square mile (like Beaver County Oklahoma - where I resided during the birth of my second son)

Would you expect huge beautiful churches in areas that have an average income of 21000$ and a population of a thousand, like the Oklahoma town I grew up in (for the most part)?

And as for people thinking Oklahoma is the "deep south", I've never heard of anyone claiming that, it wasnt asked in this thread, and no one claimed so in this thread. There are similarities with the deep south, just like there are similarities with the rest of the southern states.

Even the deep southern architecture varies by physical geography and economics among many things. See above post regarding Georgia and Alabama mountain ranges.

Oklahoma is one of the most geographically diverse states in the nation.

So which other Southern city does OKC resemble?