Dwain Midget

Dwain E. Midget, a product of a long line of distinguished Booker T. Washington High School alumni – who began his career as a city garbage truck worker, as a journalist at The Oklahoma Eagle and political aide to launch a five-decade career in public service for the city of Tulsa and be a tireless advocate for the preservation of the Historic Greenwood District and for African American empowerment – died after a long battle with multiple myeloma cancer on Tuesday, Aug 2, 2022.

He was 68.

Mr. Midget, affectionately known as “Flip,” is remembered as the man behind the curtain at City Hall, where he worked for more than 38 years. His first boss, Emily Warner, recalled how she first recruited him to city government as her assistant in then-Mayor Terry Young’s administration in 1984. She said Mr. Midget wasted little time learning how to push every lever of bureaucracy to get things done.Warner said she appreciated Mr. Midget’s deep family roots in Tulsa but seeing his resume set him apart from all the other applicants. It showed his depth of knowledge and life experience from Booker T. Washington High School to the University of Nigeria, where he earned a master’s degree in political science, to a political aide position with Congressman Jim Jones. And he knew how to navigate and analyze the political landscape while working as writer and political analyst for The Oklahoma Eagle, where he bumped heads with practically every city department when he sought answers to the issues he covered for the newspaper.

“He had his ear to the ground, and he knew the direction people wanted to go,” Warner said. “He knew the personalities. He knew the politics, because he had lived in the community for so long, and he brought a comprehensive knowledge to the community. No one else could have done it better.”

Jemia Midget, his oldest daughter, told 2 News KJRH how her father’s public persona was consistent with his private life with family and friends.

“Just as much as he is solid and he has a brilliant mind, he’s also daddy,” said Jemia Midget. “He was affectionate with us and we just loved him so much.”

His easygoing attitude, passion for public service and community planning, plus a reputation for getting things done made Mr. Midget invaluable to generations of Tulsa politicians and city leaders.