Recently expelled OU Sigma Alpha Epsilon freshman Levi Pettit apologized for his actions featured in a viral video in a press conference this afternoon alongside black community leaders, OU students and local pastors.
Pettit and Parker Rice, another former SAE member, were expelled after being identified in a leaked video of SAE members singing a racist chant on a date party bus.
Oklahoma Sen. Anastasia Pittman opened the conference, located at Fairview Missionary Baptist Church, and explained that she had shared a private meeting with Pettit and was prepared to move forward in light of the event.
“We have hope for our healing,” Pittman said. “The state of Oklahoma has issues that we need to talk about, and we’ve done that, and this is just the beginning of a great conversation.”
Pettit took the podium after Pittman, saying his meeting with many black community leaders helped him understand the reality of the black experience.
“I can never thank you enough for the way you have embraced me and opened my eyes to things I have not seen before,” Pettit said.
One place that has not embraced Pettit is the university campus, where Pittman said he is not to step foot on for a while.
Pettit made an apology for his actions, which the men behind him, who included Garland Pruitt, president of the Oklahoma City branch of the NAACP, and Oklahoma City attorney David Slane, said they accepted.
Pettit said that the Levi Pettit in the video is not representative of him.
“It’s not how I was raised to be and not who I think of myself to be,” he said.
Pettit said he has grown and has met with pastors and leaders over the past week to learn about what his words in the video meant and what effects they have produced on the African American community.
“Meeting with a few people does not change what I did, but it has begun to change me and my understanding of those hateful words,” Pettit said.
Pettit said he sees this event as a learning experience, but also as a starting point for the creation of policy against racism.
“Our goal is to tear down the walls of racism, discrimination and [prejudice],” he said.
Pittman spoke about specific policies to accomplish this, including incorporating more elements of cultural relevance and diversity into school and university curriculum.
Other than the media, few people attended the press conference. OKC resident Demetrius Gibson said he came to the church to watch Pettit apologize. He said he believed Pettit’s apology was sincere, and that time is the only way he can grow and heal from this incident.
“I think he will get a lesson out of this,” Gibson said. “People make mistakes, and that was just a huge mistake, and he’s got to fix it.”
Pettit declined comment on the specifics of the bus incident, such as where he learned the chant or how he felt while participating. He focused on apologizing for his words on the bus and what he said he is going to do in the future to prevent racism and be an advocate against it.
“I will spend the rest of my life trying to be a person who heals and brings people of all races together,” he said. “That is what I hope and pray will come out of this.”
