Oklahoma City Bombing: 30 Years of Renewal

The loudest arena in the National Basketball Association is in Oklahoma City. At the final game of the league championship on June 22nd, the crowd willed the local squad on to victory at 110 decibels. “It’s an on-court sports accomplishment”, says the city’s mayor, David Holt, of its first big-league title. But it is also “a prism through which to see the progress of our city”. Thirty years after a white nationalist’s bomb tore through the local federal building, killing 168 people, Oklahoma City’s residents are determined to be known for something other than the terrorist attack. A big-league championship is the latest step toward that goal. The city’s rebrand, however, is much broader than that.