Centennial Of Tulsa Race Riot Seen As Opportunity

By the centennial of the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921, there's a plan to make Greenwood's history a new centerpiece of downtown.

The history of the Race Riot is still sensitive, of course, but enough time has passed that people are talking about not just how to remember it, but also how to capitalize on the history to reinvigorate Greenwood.

Almost 100 years after the 1921 Tulsa Race Riot demolished "Black Wall Street" - the history is still easy to miss, even if you're standing right where it happened.

That's changing, starting with a hashtag - "#TulsaTriumphs" - as a backdrop, where the newly formed Tulsa Race Riot Centennial Commission announced plans for the next four years.

It's a group of community leaders who want to retell the story so it is never forgotten but also turn that race riot story into something positive.

Tulsa City Councilor Vanessa Hall-Harper said, "I'm hoping it will turn into tourism. It's an unfortunate tragedy but we can also come together beyond tragedy and grow, and understand, and bring communities together, and ultimately that's what I hope comes out of it."

The race riot commission will have legislative authority, but has no cash yet.

Their challenge is to make the Cultural Center a more substantial museum and for the commission to be the catalyst and guide for new development that ties into the history.

“A part of this commission will have an educational component so the truth can be told and everyone made aware,” said project manager, Reverend Jamaal Dyer.

The Oklahoma Historical Society is offering expertise and encouraging better signage to help people see the history that's all around what remains of Greenwood.

Dr. Bob Blackburn with the Oklahoma Historical Society said, "Greenwood was an exceptional community within a community, a segregated city within a city."

Blackburn imagines the Greenwood Cultural Center as the starting point for Tulsa history tours, and the commission hopes to have the pieces in place by the centennial.

The next question is when new investments will appear in Greenwood. We’re told that's coming, and soon, but nothing is ready to be made public yet.