OU Kicks Off Three-Day Symposium About 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre

The University of Oklahoma is hosting a symposium reflecting on the 100 years since the Tulsa Race Massacre. 

The theme of the three-day symposium is "Reflecting on the Past, Facing the Future," and it is part of OU’s yearlong educational initiative about the massacre.  

Events started Thursday and included both in-person and virtual participants.  

One of Thursday’s events focused on art and literature based on the massacre. Artists and a poet shared some of their work and took questions from the audience. 

Author Karlos Hill said during the opening ceremony that the symposium will be about more than the horrific details of May 31st and June 1st, 1921. 

"As much as it is a story of death and destruction, the Race Massacre is also a story of courage and resilience,” Hill said.  

There were also presentations from OU advertising students, who showed their work from an assignment to create an advertising campaign for the museum “Greenwood Rising,” which is currently under construction.  

The campaign designs involved social media, radio, TV and print ads, along with a billboard that reads, "Where we started does not have to determine where we go." 

"We really do want to express that, in no way are things perfect now, in no way have people fully recovered from the Race Massacre, but where we are now is so much better than where we were,” OU Advertising student Ellie LaGere said during the presentation.  

Friday’s events will include a panel on the mass graves investigation, a video performance by the OU School of Dance and attendees will hear from author Hannibal Johnson. 

The symposium ends Saturday with two events in Tulsa. If you’d like to register for any of the events, click here.