Latest news with #Tulsans
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Mayor unveils $105M reparations plan for descendants of Tulsa race massacre
Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols on Sunday unveiled a $105 million reparations plan for the descendants of the Tulsa race massacre -- the deadly 1921 attack by a white mob on the Oklahoma city's Greenwood section, a thriving Black neighborhood known as "Black Wall Street." The attack, which occurred May 31 and June 1, 1921, killed hundreds of people and left homes and businesses destroyed. Nichols, who became Tulsa's first Black mayor in 2024, announced the Greenwood Trust -- a $105 million charitable initiative -- on the first official Tulsa Race Massacre Observance Day. Tulsa race massacre survivors praise DOJ investigation revealing 'truth' but disappointed no charges recommended The trust is part of "The Road to Repair," a multi-step plan aimed at healing generational wounds, according to the mayor's office. "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," Nichols said in a statement on Sunday. The private trust will invest in affordable housing and homeownership, cultural and historic preservation, as well as economic development and education, according to the plan. "While the City of Tulsa cannot undo the harm of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, it can choose a road to repair to invest in justice, opportunity, and dignity and begin to repair the harm to those who survived and were impacted by the Tulsa Race Massacre and the subsequent disinvestment of the historic Greenwood District and North Tulsa," the mayor's office said. DOJ announces first-ever federal review of 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre In September 2024, the DOJ started the first federal review of the Tulsa Race massacre -- a move that the living survivors and the descendents of the victims praised at the time. Following a four-month probe, the DOJ released a 126-page report on Jan. 17. According to the report, the two-day raid killed 300 Black residents and destroyed their businesses was a "coordinated, military-style attack" conducted by a white mob of over 10,000 people. In addition to the murders and property destruction, victims' money and personal property were stolen, and they were not provided with any aid, the report said. Survivor of Tulsa Race Massacre, 'Mother Randle,' marks 110th birthday Viola Fletcher, known as "Mother Fletcher," and Lessie Benningfield Randle, known as "Mother Randle," are the last known living survivors, according to the Department of Justice, after Hugh Van Ellis, known as "Uncle Red," died on Oct. 9, 2023, at 102. Randle, who celebrated her 110th birthday on Nov. 10, 2024, and Fletcher, who turned 111 on May 10, were young girls when the deadly attack occurred and have been fighting for reparations for decades. Attorney Damario Solomon-Simmons, executive director and founder of Justice For Greenwood who represents the victims and their descendants, celebrated the mayor's plan and said that this is a "hopeful moment" for the families in this community. "Many of the commitments outlined today echo the very proposals our team and community have spent years fighting to bring to light," Solomon-Simmons said in a statement on Sunday. "This alignment is a testament to the power of truth-telling and organized advocacy -- and we're ready to work together to ensure these ideas become real outcomes for descendants."
02-06-2025
- Politics
$105M reparations plan for descendants of 1921 Tulsa race massacre unveiled by mayor
Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols on Sunday unveiled a $105 million reparations plan for the descendants of the Tulsa race massacre -- the deadly 1921 attack by a white mob on the Oklahoma city's Greenwood section, a thriving Black neighborhood known as "Black Wall Street." The attack, which occurred May 31 and June 1, 1921, killed hundreds of people and left homes and businesses destroyed. Nichols, who became Tulsa's first Black mayor in 2024, announced the Greenwood Trust -- a $105 million charitable initiative -- on the first official Tulsa Race Massacre Observance Day. The trust is part of "The Road to Repair," a multi-step plan aimed at healing generational wounds, according to the mayor's office. "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," Nichols said in a statement on Sunday. The private trust will invest in affordable housing and homeownership, cultural and historic preservation, as well as economic development and education, according to the plan. "While the City of Tulsa cannot undo the harm of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, it can choose a road to repair to invest in justice, opportunity, and dignity and begin to repair the harm to those who survived and were impacted by the Tulsa Race Massacre and the subsequent disinvestment of the historic Greenwood District and North Tulsa," the mayor's office said. In September 2024, the DOJ started the first federal review of the Tulsa Race massacre -- a move that the living survivors and the descendents of the victims praised at the time. Following a four-month probe, the DOJ released a 126-page report on Jan. 17. According to the report, the two-day raid killed 300 Black residents and destroyed their businesses was a "coordinated, military-style attack" conducted by a white mob of over 10,000 people. In addition to the murders and property destruction, victims' money and personal property were stolen, and they were not provided with any aid, the report said. Viola Fletcher, known as "Mother Fletcher," and Lessie Benningfield Randle, known as "Mother Randle," are the last known living survivors, according to the Department of Justice, after Hugh Van Ellis, known as "Uncle Red," died on Oct. 9, 2023, at 102. Randle, who celebrated her 110th birthday on Nov. 10, 2024, and Fletcher, who turned 111 on May 10, were young girls when the deadly attack occurred and have been fighting for reparations for decades. Attorney Damario Solomon-Simmons, executive director and founder of Justice For Greenwood who represents the victims and their descendants, celebrated the mayor's plan and said that this is a "hopeful moment" for the families in this community. "Many of the commitments outlined today echo the very proposals our team and community have spent years fighting to bring to light," Solomon-Simmons said in a statement on Sunday. "This alignment is a testament to the power of truth-telling and organized advocacy -- and we're ready to work together to ensure these ideas become real outcomes for descendants."
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Tulsa mayor unveils plan for $100M trust to address effects of 1921 race massacre
Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols (D) outlined plans for a trust on Sunday to address the ongoing effects stemming from the 1921 massacre that killed as many as 300 Black people, in one of the worst racial attacks in the country's history. The $105 million city-backed plan, put forward by the city's first Black mayor, would not provide direct payments to descendants of the massacre, nor to the two living survivors themselves. But it would set up a private charitable trust aimed at rebuilding the city's north side and investing in housing and revitalizing buildings. '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,' Nichols said in a press release. 'The Greenwood Trust is really a bridge that connects what we as a community can bring to the table and what the community needs. 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,' he continued. The Greenwood Trust will be created with the goal of securing the $105 million in assets by June 1, 2026, which is the 105th anniversary of the massacre. The plan specifies that a privately funded executive director, as well as a board of trustees and a board of advisors, would be onboarded to 'manage and operate the daily functions of the trust.' The first operational year of the trust will be a 'planning year' to get the initiatives off the ground. The majority of that funding, $60 million, would be designated for the Cultural Preservation Fund, to focus on improving buildings and 'reducing blight.' The Cultural Preservation Fund will also go toward implementing aspects of the Kirkpatrick Heights Greenwood Master Plan, which aims to develop a framework to redevelop 56 acres of publicly owned property in North Tulsa. The master plan is a community-led planning process whose goal is to 'evaluate existing conditions and opportunities, develop a vision for redevelopment of the sites, recommend structures for long-term ownership and governance of the sites, and create an action-oriented plan for implementation,' according to the site. Also included in the $105 million Greenwood Trust is a $24 million Housing Fund, which would create housing opportunities for massacre survivors and descendants. The third component of the trust would be a $21 million Legacy Fund, which would help create a scholarship funding structure for stronger educational pathways for descendants, as well as funding for small business and organizational grants to further economic development in the community. Nichols announced the plan at the Greenwood Cultural Center on Sunday, June 1, which he previously designated as Tulsa Race Massacre Observance Day, an official city holiday, in an executive order earlier this year. He noted that the plan does not use the term reparations, which he said is politically charged, and instead he characterized his plan as a 'road to repair,' The Associated Press reported. 'At this moment in our nation's history, this work will allow us to stand together and become a national model for how cities confront their history while charting a new path forward rooted in unity and truth,' Nichols said in the release. 'I firmly believe we have a community that is ready to take this step forward based on the advocacy work that has already taken place. 104 years after the Massacre, it is up to us to provide the framework that will build up a community that has been left out for far too long.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
02-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Tulsa mayor unveils plan for $100M trust to address effects of 1921 race massacre
Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols (D) outlined plans for a trust on Sunday to address the ongoing effects stemming from the 1921 massacre that killed as many as 300 Black people, in one of the worst racial attacks in the country's history. The $105 million city-backed plan, put forward by the city's first Black mayor, would not provide direct payments to descendants of the massacre, nor to the two living survivors, themselves. But it would set up a private charitable trust aimed at rebuilding the city's north side and investing in housing and revitalizing buildings. '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,' Nichols said in a press release. 'The Greenwood Trust is really a bridge that connects what we as a community can bring to the table and what the community needs. 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,' he continued. The Greenwood Trust will be created with the goal of securing the $105 million in assets by June 1, 2026, which is the 105th anniversary of the massacre. The plan specifies that a privately funded executive director, as well as a board of trustees and a board of advisors, would be onboarded to 'manage and operate the daily functions of the trust.' The first operational year of the trust will be a 'planning year' to get the initiatives off the ground. The majority of that funding, $60 million, would be designated for the Cultural Preservation Fund, to focus on improving buildings and 'reducing blight.' The Cultural Preservation Fund will also go toward implementing aspects of the Kirkpatrick Heights Greenwood Master Plan, which aims to develop a framework to redevelop 56 acres of publicly owned property in North Tulsa. The master plan is a community-led planning process whose goal is to 'evaluate existing conditions and opportunities, develop a vision for redevelopment of the sites, recommend structures for long-term ownership and governance of the sites, and create an action-oriented plan for implementation,' according to the site. Also included in the $105 million Greenwood Trust is a $24 million Housing Fund, which would create housing opportunities for massacre survivors and descendants. The third component of the trust would be a $21 million Legacy Fund, which would help create a scholarship funding structure for stronger educational pathways for descendants, as well as funding for small business and organizational grants to further economic development in the community. Nichols announced the plan at the Greenwood Cultural Center on Sunday, June 1, which he previously designated as Tulsa Race Massacre Observance Day, an official city holiday, in an executive order earlier this year. He noted that the plan does not use the term reparations, which he said is politically charged, and instead he characterized his plan as a 'road to repair,' The Associated Press reported. 'At this moment in our nation's history, this work will allow us to stand together and become a national model for how cities confront their history while charting a new path forward rooted in unity and truth,' Nichols said in the release. 'I firmly believe we have a community that is ready to take this step forward based on the advocacy work that has already taken place. 104 years after the Massacre, it is up to us to provide the framework that will build up a community that has been left out for far too long.'
Mint
01-06-2025
- Politics
- Mint
Tulsa mayor announces $105 million trust to address impact of 1921 massacre
(Adds missing word in first paragraph.) June 1 (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. (Reporting by Jasper Ward; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
