TULSA, Okla — It has officially been 105 years since the Tulsa Race Massacre took place in Tulsa’s Greenwood District.
Tulsans everywhere spent the weekend reflecting and honoring the past.
2 News spoke to people to find out how the community is hoping to continue its growth and healing.
Reverend Randy Lewis is the assistant minister at the All Souls church.
He said the church has organized its “Promise and Repair” service for three years now.
The ceremony uses flowers and rocks as symbols for difficulties, promises, and the beautiful things in life.
“You see the beauty of the first circle, but then the last circle that has flowers and rocks, so it’s not all beauty, it’s recovery,” he said. “It’s history, it’s all of that, and then it’s this future aspiration that it gives us.”
He said it all ties back to the race massacre and how to move forward and grow.
“We put the stones in places when we try to repair the circle again,” he said. “You feel that the solidness of those stones, so that means that you, you’re thinking you’re really thinking, and diving deep into the new promises that you’re making.”
Another remembrance ceremony was held in Tulsa’s Greenwood district that included speeches from Tony Williams, Mayor Monroe Nichols and others.
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“To me, it’s just a great time to reflect, but it also is a time to really think about the responsibility moving forward,” said Mayor Nichols.
The Mayor said he’s not quite sure what’s happening on the reparations side of things, but is hoping to promote restorative economics through the Greenwood Trust.
“We’re into the business of raising the $105 million in capital for the programmatic pieces of the trust,” said Nichols. “The investment in cultural preservation, the investment in scholarships and business grants and no interest loans, and the investment in housing in this community. I’m really excited about some announcements we’ll have coming up.”
Isabel Flores is your North & East Tulsa reporter.
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