History

Back in 2007, a conversation started among some of Oklahoma City’s clergy and other faith-based leaders. One of the issues they talked about was a wave of harsh anti-immigrant legislation being discussed and voted on. They knew passage would impact members of their congregations and make felons out of drivers who pick up some of their congregants to go to church.

They did everything they knew to do as pastors to fight it: preach against it, hold prayer vigils, and even encourage letters to representatives. But more was needed.

They began discussing models of organizing. They wanted to get deeper with their congregations and challenge them to face outward into the community, as well as strengthen as congregations. After exploring and discussing options, they landed on the IAF (Industrial Areas Foundation) model of broad-based organizing.

The road from there wasn’t straight or smooth, but after four years of building an organization, VOICE was founded in 2012 with 27 member institutions and over 1,200 present at our founding convention.