Our Good Angel, Kate

<p>Kate Barnard may have shaped the early history of Oklahoma more than any other figure. Exposed to the plight of the less fortunate while staffing the Oklahoma Territory exhibit at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis, her life was changed forever. She started charitable organizations in Oklahoma City to feed and clothe the poor, but felt like there was more work to be done. She amassed political power through her work with labor unions, and became a fiery orator who drew thousands to her speeches. She convinced the delegates to the Oklahoma Constitutional Convention to create the office of commissioner of charities and corrections, a position with the authority to investigate the conditions of prisons, orphanages, hospitals, and other public institutions. She was elected the first commissioner in 1907, one of the first women in the country to hold statewide elected office. She used her power to advocate on behalf of orphans, the poor, people with disabilities, and the incarcerated. Her crusade for justice on behalf of Indigenous orphans, however, proved to be her undoing.</p>