Reparations and Remembrance: Honoring the Legacy of Tulsa's Race Massacre Survivors and Their Descendants

Following the tragic murder of George Floyd in May 2020 and the subsequent Black Lives Matter protests, urgent discussions emerged regarding the enduring racial wealth divide in America. Despite 160 years post-Emancipation and over six decades since legal segregation ended, the median wealth of Black households stands at a mere 15% of that of their white counterparts, as revealed by the Federal Reserve's 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances. Tulsa, Oklahoma, exemplifies this disparity, with its historic Black neighborhood, Greenwood, drastically transformed from its former stature as America's "Black Wall Street" to a mere shadow of its past. Local photographer Don Thompson illustrated the area's rich legacy, recounting over 600 thriving businesses that existed in the early 1900s, obliterated during the catastrophic Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921. Today, advocates like Kristi Williams call for economic reparations, asserting that restorative efforts are crucial for healing and progression.