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| Anita Arnold |
According to a recent news release, the Multicultural Education Institute at the University of Central Oklahoma in Oklahoma City, named Anita Arnold, executive director of Black Liberated Arts Center (BLAC) Inc. as the 2012 Multicultural Citizen of the Year.
The ceremony was held March 9, 2012, at the UCO Student Union Ballroom. According to Dr. Silvya A. Kirk, the annual award is presented in recognition of excellence in multicultural education to an individual who must meet one or more of the Institute’s 10 selection criteria which include being an upstanding role model in the community.
Kirk said Arnold’s years of service in multicultural and diverse activities as well as involvement in the community was what influenced the committee’s decision.
Among the many programs that Arnold has presented that reflects multiculturalism include BLAC Inc.’s Statewide Professional Development Conference for Teachers and Artists as well as the Charlie Christian International Music Festival. For more than 21 years, Arnold has worked to establish a reputation of excellence in the arts and education by bringing to Oklahoma experts in education and music.
Arnold, an Oklahoma native, is the recipient of many local, state and national awards including the prestigious Governor’s Arts Award, City/County Pathmakers Award, Oklahoma Human Rights Award, and the ONE Award. She is also the author of four cultural history books on Deep Deuce and Charlie Christian. Her most recent book is “Oklahoma City Music: Deep Deuce and Beyond,” published by Arcadia Publishing, South Carolina.