Meet Mauree Turner, one of election night’s greatest repudiations of Trumpism

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Mauree Turner poses in Oklahoma City, Feb. 5, 2020 [Qazi Islam/AP]

Mauree Turner poses in Oklahoma City, Feb. 5, 2020 [Qazi Islam/AP]

One of election night’s greatest repudiations of the last four years happened in Oklahoma, when 27-year-old Mauree Turner, a Black, queer community activist, became the state’s first Muslim lawmaker, as well as one of the first openly nonbinary state lawmakers in the U.S. Turner ran on platforms of reforming Oklahoma’s justice system, investing in public education, increasing the minimum wage to $12, and improving health care.

In an interview with AJ+ producer Raji Ramanathan after the election, Rep.-elect Turner, a Democrat soon to join Oklahoma's House of Representatives for the 88th District, shared how being an organizer led them to run for Oklahoma’s legislature, and what they hope other people take from their campaign.

A focus on reforming the justice system

Originally planning to become a veterinarian, Turner pivoted in college after reconnecting with their father, who had been in and out of the Oklahoma prison system when they were a child.

Through rebuilding that relationship, Turner developed an understanding of the state’s carceral system, and realized it was important to shift the conversation about the justice system from concerns over taxpayer dollars to the school-to-prison pipeline, bail reform, jury sentencing and how the system itself is built for revenge rather than rehabilitation.

“I realized that I wanted to be able to do work where I felt not just, ‘Okay, I'm making a decent living, I'm doing all right,’ but ... I was making Oklahoma a better place,” Turner said. “I wanted to make sure I was trying to make Oklahoma the place that I wanted to grow up in.”

“I don't believe in career politicians, but I do believe in answering a call to action”

Through policy advocacy around criminal justice at the state Capitol, Turner began to see how the people most affected by the state’s decisions were left out of the conversation. And as a result, the government often went with so-called “middle-of-the-road” solutions.

This led Turner to run for office representing Oklahoma’s 88th District, so they could advocate on the behalf of the community.

The district had never elected a Black or Latino representative though Turner described the House district as home to a thriving community of organizers and activists. Their campaign worked because it wasn’t about electing an ally, Turner said, nor helping marginalized and disenfranchised communities “find their voice.” It was about putting someone from that community in a place where others would be forced to listen.

“I don't believe in career politicians, but I do believe [in] answering a call to action … and I decided I would listen to my community that was asking me to run,” Turner said. “I decided I would listen to the advice that I'm continuously giving everybody else about why it's important that we see ourselves in those who make, interpret, and enforce laws and policies that dictate our everyday lives.”

“We’re building a new table altogether”

Turner hopes that people will be inspired by their experience and feel more emboldened to show up fully as themselves. Working within oppressive systems and fighting for “a seat at the table,” isn’t enough, they believe.

“A lot of people think that marginalized and disenfranchised communities have been constantly requesting a seat at the table … but I’m fighting to build a new table,” they said. “One that is inclusive, one where you're listening to communities that have been talking to us, been fighting to be heard all this time. I don't want a seat at the table. I want to make sure that we continuously build new tables, we build new rooms, new systems.”

Produced by Samantha Grasso and Raji Ramanathan

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