TULSA, Okla. — Survivors and descendants of victims of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre will host the Black Wall Street Legacy Festival later this spring.
The Black Wall Street Legacy Festival will commemorate the Centennial of the Tulsa Race Massacre from May 28th to the 30th. The Festival will host a series of community-led events that will take place in Tulsa's Greenwood neighborhood and center around the hundreds who lost their lives, as well as honoring the survivors and descendants a century later.
“Each day that we have with the massacre survivors is a gift. It’s important to remember that folks have clawed through pain, trauma, and erasure to arrive at this Centennial,” said Dr. Tiffany Crutcher, one of the descendants of the massacre and lead organizers of the Festival.
The Festival is headlined by the last known massacre survivors, 106-year-old Lessie Benningfield “Mother” Randle, 106-year-old Viola “Mother” Fletcher, and 100-year-old Hughes Van Ellis.
Panels will explore urgent issues, ranging from the lingering everyday consequences of the massacre to the erasure of the essential history of the event, as well as the state and future of Black Wall Street throughout the weekend.
The Festival will also feature a series of musical performances from local acts like Fire in Little Africa and national headliners like John P. Kee. The acts were curated by Tulsa artist and community leader Steph Simon, founder of the World Culture Music Festival.
“WCMF is the largest hip-hop festival in Oklahoma, and we are honored to partner with Black Wall Street Legacy Festival on this historic commemoration,” Simon said.
The Black Wall Street Legacy Festival will 100 years to the day when mobs of white people stormed Tulsa's affluent Greenwood district and burned down what was known as Black Wall Street and leaving hundreds of Black people dead. No one was charged with a crime for violence nor compensated for the loss of life or economic devastation of losing the district.
The festival will close 100 years to the day when mobs of white people stormed Tulsa’s affluent Greenwood district, burning down the enclave known as Black Wall Street and leaving hundreds of Black people dead. No one was ever charged with a crime for the violence or compensated for the loss of life and economic devastation.
The Black Wall Street Legacy Festival website has more details will continue to update details as the event comes closer.
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