Latest news with #GreenwoodDistrict
CNN
3 days ago
- Business
- CNN
1921 Oklahoma Race Massacre: Tulsa's mayor proposed a private trust
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 Massacrescholarships 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 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.' 'This is, I think, a very significant first step,' Nichols said. 'And it's something we can all unite around. I think we can unite around housing specifically for affected populations. I think we can unite around investing in the Greenwood district and making sure that we're able to revitalize it to be an economic power again.' Nichols said the proposal would not require city council approval, although the council would need to authorize the transfer of any city property to the trust. 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 of the trust programs 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. '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 comes on the heels of an executive order he signed earlier this year recognizing June 1 as Tulsa Race Massacre Observance Day, an official holiday for the city. Nichols also realizes the current national political climate, particularly President Trump's sweeping assault on diversity, equity and inclusion programs, provides 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 as a result of the massacre. '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 the idea of 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 like 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, both of whom are 110 years old: Leslie Benningfield Randle and Viola Fletcher. Both received direct financial compensation from both a Tulsa-based nonprofitand 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, could not be reached for comment on the mayor's plan, but 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.
Fox News
3 days ago
- Business
- Fox News
Tulsa mayor proposes $100M reparations plan for descendants of 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre
Tulsa's first Black mayor proposed creating a $100 million private trust as part of a reparations plan for the impact of the Tulsa Race Massacre which took place more than 100 years ago. Mayor Monroe Nichols IV, elected mayor in November, says the trust would be used to provide scholarships and housing to the descendants of those impacted by the massacre. He clarified that the trust would not involve direct cash payments, however. "For 104 years, the Tulsa Race Massacre has been a stain on our city's history," Nichols said Sunday. "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," he added. 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. Nichols says the City Council would have to approve the transfer of any city assets to the trust. 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 told the Associated Press. "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' push comes just weeks after Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., announced plans to introduce the Reparations Now Resolution, which calls for the U.S. to spend trillions of dollars on reparations for Black Americans. Lee's resolution cites U.S. slavery, Jim Crow laws, and other racially discriminatory laws and policies to justify spending trillions of dollars supporting the descendants of Black Americans in the U.S. "That's why we recognize that the fight to restore Black folks has to be so much more substantive," she added.
The Independent
3 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Cash payments ruled out for last survivors of race massacre
Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols has proposed a US$100 million private trust to provide scholarships and housing assistance to descendants of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. The plan aims to atone for the racial attack that destroyed the Greenwood district and left thousands of black people homeless, but will not include direct cash payments to descendants of the victims or the last two living survivors. The mayor characterises the plan as a 'road to repair' rather than reparations, and it would not require city council approval, though transferring city property would need authorisation. The trust aims to secure $105 million in assets by June 2026, with $60 million earmarked for improving buildings and revitalising Tulsa's north side. The proposal faces political challenges due to President Donald Trump 's stance on diversity programmes.
The Independent
3 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Tulsa's new Black mayor plans $100M reparations for descendants of 1921 Race Massacre
Tulsa's Mayor Monroe Nichols has proposed a $100 million private trust to provide scholarships and housing assistance to descendants of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. Nichols, the first Black mayor of Tulsa, announced the plan at the Greenwood Cultural Center, located in the once-thriving district that was destroyed by a white mob. The mayor's proposal is part of a city-backed effort to atone for one of the worst racial attacks in U.S. history. The plan would not include direct cash payments to descendants or the last two centenarian survivors of the attack that killed as many as 300 Black people. Nichols said he does not use the term reparations, which he calls politically charged, characterizing his sweeping plan instead as a 'road to repair.' 'This is, I think, a very significant first step,' Nichols said. 'And it's something we can all unite around. I think we can unite around housing specifically for affected populations. I think we can unite around investing in the Greenwood district and making sure that we're able to revitalize it to be an economic power again.' Nichols said the proposal would not require city council approval, although the council would need to authorize the transfer of any city property to the trust. 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 of the trust programs 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. '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 comes on the heels of an executive order he signed earlier this year recognizing June 1 as Tulsa Race Massacre Observance Day, an official holiday for the city. Nichols also realizes the current national political climate, particularly President Trump 's sweeping assault on diversity, equity and inclusion programs, provides 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 as a result of the massacre. '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 the idea of 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 like 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, both of whom are 110 years old: Leslie Benningfield Randle and Viola Fletcher. Both 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, could not be reached for comment on the mayor's plan, but 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.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Tulsa mayor announces $105 million trust to address impact of 1921 massacre
(Reuters) - The mayor of Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Sunday announced more than a $100 million trust aimed at repairing and addressing the "systemic impacts" of the 1921 massacre that targeted African American homes and businesses. The announcement was made on the 104th anniversary of the massacre, which started on May 31, 1921 and ended the following day, leaving as many as 300 dead. "This is a critical step to help to unify Tulsans and heal the wounds that for so long prevented generations of our neighbors from being able to recover from the race massacre," Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols said. The trust, which is named after the city's Greenwood District, where the massacre took place, will be created with the goal of securing $105 million in assets. It aims to secure those funds by the 105th anniversary of the attack on June 1, 2026. Assets could include property transferred to the Trust, philanthropic funding and public funding, according to a statement from the city. The focus areas for the trust include a $24 million housing fund to benefit residents of Greenwood and North Tulsa, and a $60 million cultural preservation fund aimed at improving buildings, among other things. Another focus will be a $21 million legacy fund for the development of trust-owned land and acquisition of land for the benefit of survivors and descendants of the massacre. The first year of operation will focus on planning, the mayor said, adding initial staff will be hired for fundraising efforts. "The Greenwood Trust is really a bridge that connects what we as a community can bring to the table and what the community needs," Nichols said in a statement. "As we seek to make this framework a reality, I am eager to work alongside my fellow Tulsans and partners across the country to create a fundamental shift in how we further establish generational wealth, housing opportunities, and repair for so many Tulsans." The Biden administration's U.S. Department of Justice in January said while there are credible reports that law enforcement was involved in the attack, it had no avenue to prosecute the crimes that occurred, citing the expiration of relevant statutes of limitations and the youngest potential defendants being more than 115 years old. (This story has been refiled to add a missing word in paragraph 1)
