Community Leaders Spark Real Conversations At Black Wall Street Legacy Summit

Cultural experts and community leaders gathered at the Greenwood Cultural Center to talk about some tough topics. Organizers of the Black Wall Street Legacy Festival said real change happens when real conversations occur. 

Ayilla Musa is a local artist who took part in one of Friday’s panels. Musa said the Legacy Fest Summit is no time for surface-level conversations. 

"Without knowing where you came from and knowing the success that we had as a community it can detrimentally impact the community," Musa said. 

Volunteer Nate Morris said panelists discussed everything from reparations to Tulsa's hidden history, and the future of Historic Greenwood. 

“For too long people have tried to pretend their way to peace and I think the city has tried to pretend that we can get to peace without actually taking action," Morris said. 

Musa and fellow artists just released an album as a part of a project called "Fire in Little Africa." 

"Music is the language of the music of the universe,” said Musa. “It's the perfect platform for difficult topics." 

Black journalists took the stage to advocate for taking control of the narrative about Black Americans. 

"Whose stories get told and who gets to tell them,” Tahaie said? 

Volunteer Mana Tahaie believes descendants with direct ties to Greenwood should be the loudest voices. 

"Those are the folks we need to be deferring to, listening to, taking leadership from," Tahaie said. 

Tahaie reminds people that Greenwood is sacred ground. 

"We need to really resist the gentrification that often happens in times like these where you see outsiders who see an opportunity and want to capitalize on that," Tahaie said. 

Musa stresses the importance of healing from history saying buildings are being rebuilt but said trauma will affect generations. 

"Energy never dies and what took place here is very traumatic. That does not just go away. It's imbedded in us," Musa said.