Feb 11, 2025 Story by: Editor
Advocates in Oklahoma have introduced a new initiative aimed at securing reparations, economic development, and historical preservation for the survivors of the Tulsa Race Massacre and their descendants.
Why It Matters
The newly announced Project Greenwood—named after Tulsa’s once-flourishing Black economic district—comes just a month after the Biden administration’s Justice Department determined that “no avenue for prosecution exists” for the crimes committed during the 1921 massacre.
The massacre remains one of the deadliest acts of racial violence in U.S. history.
The Bigger Picture
This initiative follows years of advocacy by Justice For Greenwood, a group that has pushed for greater recognition and financial compensation for the massacre’s victims and their families.
Key Details of the Plan
- The plan proposes a victim compensation fund along with direct cash payments to families of known victims.
- It calls for business grants, scholarships, employment opportunities, and preferential city contracts for documented descendants.
- Additionally, it suggests that victims and their descendants should be exempt from Tulsa taxes, fees, and utility bills.
Land and Healthcare Provisions
- The initiative demands that Tulsa conduct a “land audit” of the historic Greenwood neighborhood to determine whether land was unlawfully taken after the massacre. If any land is found to have been wrongfully seized, the plan calls for its return to the affected families.
- Another proposal includes establishing a level 1 trauma hospital in the area, to be named after Dr. A.C. Jackson, a Black surgeon who was killed during the massacre.
While the project does not specify an exact cost, it is expected to require millions of dollars to implement.
What They’re Saying
Damario Solomon-Simmons, an attorney representing the last two surviving massacre victims, emphasized the plan’s importance at a press conference on Tuesday.
“Project Greenwood is good for the survivors and descendants because it provides them a tangible benefit to move forward,” he said.
Solomon-Simmons, who helped develop the initiative, clarified that the plan is not race-based but ‘harm-based’ and added, “You cannot move forward as a city with those claims being unpaid.”
Jacqueline Weary, a descendant of massacre survivor John Emerson, Sr., reflected on the economic impact the massacre had on families who lost homes and businesses.
“It was an atrocity. Imagine what would happen if the money was still here for the descendants to have their own business right now.”
The City’s Response
Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols acknowledged the plan in a statement, saying he would address it in the coming weeks.
“Project Greenwood reflects the unshakable resolve of the last living massacre survivors and descendants to address the generational impact of Greenwood’s destruction and move Tulsa forward.”
Nichols expressed his commitment to implementing key elements of the plan in collaboration with Justice for Greenwood.
However, former Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum previously opposed reparations, arguing that they would “divide” the city. Instead, he supported redevelopment efforts in the historic Black Wall Street area.
Historical Context
On May 31, 1921, a white mob attacked Greenwood after unfounded rumors spread that a Black teenager had assaulted a white woman.
- City officials deputized members of the mob, who proceeded to indiscriminately shoot and kill Black residents.
- Over the next 24 hours, the mob set fire to 35 blocks, destroying Black-owned businesses, homes, churches, a school, a hospital, and a library.
- The attack obliterated Greenwood’s thriving Black economy, once known as “Black Wall Street”.
- Approximately 300 Black residents were killed, but no one was ever charged for the mass killings.
Following the massacre, city officials prevented many Black residents from rebuilding by refusing to sell them construction materials, forcing many survivors to live in makeshift tents.
Recent research efforts have uncovered a mass grave at Oaklawn Cemetery, which some believe may contain victims of the massacre. Source: Axios
