OKC National Memorial and Museum Holding Conversations A Year After Capitol Riots

A year after the Capitol riots, Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum leaders have a reminder for why they continue to share their story.

"One of the first images I remember is seeing the beautiful Oklahoma flag crossing the barrier into the Capitol. I thought, gosh, surely that person wasn't here in 1995 or hasn't been here to see how the city had to go through to rebuild. Surely that person doesn't understand what this city and state had to go through to make sure terrorists didn't win," said the President and CEO of the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum, Kari Watkins.

On January 6th of last year, Congress was working to confirm Joe Biden's electoral college victory when protesting turned violent.

Now in Oklahoma City, 26 years since another attack on the government, the memorial and museum's mission statement stands,

"We can never stop instilling an understanding of the senselessness of violence, especially as a means of effecting government change."

"We feel responsible that we must bring people together and have these hard discussions," said Watkins.

On Thursday, the memorial will hold a virtual conversation for people of all beliefs and backgrounds to discuss why some think violence is acceptable and what precisely free speech is.

You can find the information for the conversations here.