Greenwood Rising Reopens To The Public With Exhibit Updates

A month after closing for maintenance and updates, Greenwood Rising Black Wall Street History Center is reopening on Thursday, September 1.

It's been a record-breaking summer at Greenwood Rising, one year since the museum opened.

Interim Executive Director Phil Armstrong says before opening the center expected around 2,500 visitors a month.

A year later, the average is 4,500 and this summer, that number doubled.

"In June, we hit 7,000, in July, just shy of 8,000,” Armstrong said.

That's why this month, the museum took a break.

Armstrong said the time off allowed workers to refresh exhibits, clean, and train and hire more staff.

"So, it gave us the time to kind of reset and make that break from free admissions to charging admissions, so all of that was accomplished this month,” Armstrong said.

This fall, Greenwood Rising will launch a field trip program for 8th graders at Tulsa Public Schools.

The history center will take students back in time to the 1900s before and after the Tulsa Race Massacre.

"And so, people come here, they feel a sense of unity, they feel a sense of loss, but they feel a sense of inspiration,” Armstrong said.

Armstrong said many museum visitors come from out of state, even from around the world.

A brochure from the John Hope Franklin Center for Reconciliation shows a map.

"There's Greenwood Cultural Center, there is the historic Vernon AME Church, there's John Hope Franklin Park,” Armstrong said.

He hopes Greenwood Rising is a stop on a journey of exploration in the district.

"Now walk the history and go see all of our partners in this area of Greenwood, so you can see just how incredible this history was at one time and will continue to be,” Armstrong said.

The center reopens Thursday, and tickets are required.