Tulsa's new Black mayor proposes $100M trust to 'repair' impact of 1921 Race Massacre
TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Tulsa's new mayor on Sunday proposed a $100 million private trust as part of a reparations plan to give descendants of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre scholarships and housing help in a city-backed bid to make amends for one of the worst racial attacks in U.S. history.
The plan by Mayor Monroe Nichols, the first Black mayor of Oklahoma's second-largest city, would not provide direct cash payments to descendants or the last two centenarian survivors of the attack that killed as many as 300 Black people. He made the announcement at the Greenwood Cultural Center, located in the once-thriving district of North Tulsa that was destroyed by a white mob.
Nichols said he does not use the term reparations, which he calls politically charged, characterizing his sweeping plan instead as a 'road to repair.'
'For 104 years, the Tulsa Race Massacre has been a stain on our city's history,' Nichols said Sunday after receiving a standing ovation from several hundred people. 'The massacre was hidden from history books, only to be followed by the intentional acts of redlining, a highway built to choke off economic vitality and the perpetual underinvestment of local, state and federal governments.
'Now it's time to take the next big steps to restore.'
Nichols said the proposal wouldn't require city council approval, although the council would need to authorize the transfer of any city property to the trust, something he said was highly likely.
The private charitable trust would be created with a goal to secure $105 million in assets, with most of the funding either secured or committed by June 1, 2026. Although details would be developed over the next year by an executive director and a board of managers, the plan calls for the bulk of the funding, $60 million, to go toward improving buildings and revitalizing the city's north side.
'The Greenwood District at its height was a center of commerce,' Nichols said in a telephone interview. 'So what was lost was not just something from North Tulsa or the Black community. It actually robbed Tulsa of an economic future that would have rivaled anywhere else in the world."
Nichols' proposal follows an executive order he signed earlier this year recognizing June 1 as Tulsa Race Massacre Observance Day, an official city holiday. Events Sunday in the Greenwood District included a picnic for families, worship services and an evening candlelight vigil.
Nichols also realizes the current national political climate, particularly President Trump's sweeping assault on diversity, equity and inclusion programs, poses challenging political crosswinds.
'The fact that this lines up with a broader national conversation is a tough environment,' Nichols admitted, 'but it doesn't change the work we have to do.'
Jacqueline Weary, is a granddaughter of massacre survivor John R. Emerson, Sr., who owned a hotel and cab company in Greenwood that were destroyed. She acknowledged the political difficulty of giving cash payments to descendants. But at the same time, she wondered how much of her family's wealth was lost in the violence.
'If Greenwood was still there, my grandfather would still have his hotel,' said Weary, 65. 'It rightfully was our inheritance, and it was literally taken away.'
Tulsa is not the first U.S. city to explore reparations. The Chicago suburb of Evanston, Illinois, was the first U.S. city to make reparations available to its Black residents for past discrimination, offering qualifying households $25,000 for home repairs, down payments on property, and interest or late penalties on property in the city. The funding for the program came from taxes on the sale of recreational marijuana.
Other communities and organizations that have considered providing reparations range from the state of California to cities including Amherst, Massachusetts; Providence, Rhode Island; Asheville, North Carolina; and Iowa City, Iowa; religious denominations like the Episcopal Church; and prominent colleges like Georgetown University in Washington.
In Tulsa, there are only two living survivors of the Race Massacre: 110-year-old Lessie Benningfield Randle and Viola Fletcher, who is 111. The women, both of whom were in attendance on Sunday, received direct financial compensation from both a Tulsa-based nonprofit and a New York-based philanthropic organization, but have not received any recompense from the city or state.
Damario Solomon-Simmons, an attorney for the survivors and the founder of the Justice for Greenwood Foundation, said earlier this year that any reparations plan should include direct payments to Randle and Fletcher and a victims' compensation fund for outstanding claims.
A lawsuit filed by Solomon-Simmons on behalf of the survivors was rejected by the Oklahoma Supreme Court last year, dampening racial justice advocates' hopes that the city would ever make financial amends.
___
This story has been corrected to show one of the two living survivors of the Tulsa Race Massacre is Lessie Benningfield Randle, not Leslie, and that the other living survivor, Viola Fletcher, is 111, not 110.
Sean Murphy, The Associated Press
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
27 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Photos of Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil after 104 days in US custody
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Mahmoud Khalil, a former Columbia University student and Palestinian activist, has returned to the Northeast U.S. after spending 104 days in federal immigration detention. ___ This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.
Hamilton Spectator
30 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Photos of Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil after 104 days in US custody
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Mahmoud Khalil, a former Columbia University student and Palestinian activist, has returned to the Northeast U.S. after spending 104 days in federal immigration detention. ___ This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Padilla claims Noem clash wasn't planned stunt: ‘rhetoric compelled me'
California Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla insisted Saturday that he didn't pre-plan his heckling of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in Los Angeles — claiming that the stunt that got him handcuffed was a spur of the moment attempt at congressional oversight. Padilla argued in an interview with MSNBC hosts Eugene Daniels and Jonathan Capehart that Noem's 'rhetoric compelled' him to approach her lectern at a press conference and interrupt. Padilla was removed from the June 12 event after he pushed against law enforcement officers who blocked him and shouted, 'I'm Senator Alex Padilla! I have questions for the secretary!' He appeared on MSNBC to respond to Vice President JD Vance, who last week referred to him as 'Jose' Padilla and accused him of 'pure political theater' in his protest of Trump administration immigration enforcement policies. 5 Sen. Alex Padilla was handcuffed June 12 after attempting to confront DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. AP 5 Padilla pushed back against law enforcement officers as he tried to reach Noem's lectern. AP The VP's office explained the first-name error by saying Vance 'must have mixed up two people who have broken the law.' 'He knows my name,' Padilla griped to MSNBC. 'Sadly, it's just an indicator of how petty and unserious this administration is.' 5 Noem was discussing an immigration crackdown and local protests against immigration officials. AP 5 Vice President JD Vance accused Padilla of staging 'political theater.' Getty Images Padilla claimed that he was merely attempting to exercise his congressional duties during his confrontation with Noem. 'Part of our job is oversight and accountability — exactly what this administration does not want, and so they will try to throw any hurdle, any roadblock, to keep us from our oversight and accountability role. That's all I was doing, right?' the Democrat said 'That press conference, as you know, I did not barge in. I was escorted in. I did not lunge at the secretary… I had the audacity of trying to ask a question,' he said. 5 Democrats have denounced Padilla's brief detention. via REUTERS 'I heard there was this press conference, asked to join, they opened the door for me and I sat quietly on the side until the rhetoric compelled me to speak up — not just as a senator, but as an American,' Padilla added. 'Just the notion that they're suggesting that it's their job to liberate Los Angeles from our duly elected mayor and governor. It is too much.' The previously little-known senator was appointed to his position in 2021 by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) to fill the vacancy created by Kamala Harris becoming vice president. He was elected to a full six-year term in 2022.
