Nonprofit renews push to restore neighborhood after Tulsa Race Massacre

• Project Greenwood seeks to restore Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Greenwood District, by bringing new investments and connecting with descendants of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. The area was once known as “Black Wall Street.”
• A recent review by the DOJ confirmed the attack was executed militarily to destroy the Black community.
• Tulsa’s mayor supports the new plan.

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A nonprofit organization, Justice for Greenwood, is working to revitalize Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Greenwood District, an area once known as “Black Wall Street.” It’s an effort to bring the community back to its former vibrancy before the 1921 massacre.

The 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre

Over a century ago, a white mob ripped through the thriving Black neighborhood, leaving 35 city blocks in ruins. Grocery stores, homes, hotels and restaurants were burned to the ground as rioters destroyed the community. Historians estimate at least 300 people were killed during the 24-hour attack, which has since been labeled a massacre and remains one of the most devastating racial attacks in U.S. history.

New proposal for justice and rebuilding

Project Greenwood is the new proposal to bring justice to the two remaining survivors, Lessie Benningfield Randle and Viola Ford Fletcher, who are now 110 years old.

“When I speak about my grandmother, I get emotional because I know what she’s went through, and I know what both of them have gone through, and to know they are still here and fighting,” said LaDonna Penny, the granddaughter of Randle.

The proposal also seeks to lift the “dark cloud” still hovering over Tulsa, according to the nonprofit’s lawyer, Damario Solomon-Simmons. He said it’s not about race but about righting decades of wrongs and reconnecting the descendants of the Greenwood District.

Full proposal includes:

• Direct payments to survivors
• A trauma center
• Release of Tulsa Race Massacre records
• New criminal investigation
• Scholarship program
• Business program
• Entity supporting surviving businesses
• Immunity from taxes
• June 1 official holiday
• Land audit of city-owned acres

Department of Justice’s findings

Justice for Greenwood has long called on the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate the 1921 massacre. In January, the DOJ released a report ending decades of silence, acknowledging the military-style attack was meant to destroy a thriving Black community. Although those involved are no longer alive to face charges, the U.S. attorney emphasized the importance of remembering this dark chapter in American history.

“The report recognizes that some may find the department’s inability to prosecute a painful or dissatisfying outcome. However, the review recognizes and documents the horrible events that occurred as well as the trauma and loss suffered by the residents of Greenwood.”

Department of Justice

Lawsuit dismissed, past setbacks hinder progress

Last year, the Oklahoma Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit filed by Justice for Greenwood, which sought financial reparations for the massacre. The court upheld a district court decision, acknowledging the historical events but ruling they do not fall under state law for compensation.

The Greenwood District began rebuilding just months after the massacre, despite efforts to stop the recovery. However, the area was set back again in the 1970s when four federally funded highways sliced through the neighborhood.

Tulsa’s mayor, Monroe Nichols, has expressed support for the new proposal, emphasizing its potential to revitalize the North Tulsa community.

“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.”

Statement by Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols