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Mayor Nichols Presents Road to Repair to Address Systemic Impacts from 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre

6/1/2025

Nichols Announces Creation of The Greenwood Trust to Unite Tulsa and Serve as Focal Point to Bridge Efforts Across Community Needs; Releases Historical 1921 Race Massacre Records

Today at the Greenwood Cultural Center and on Tulsa Race Massacre Observance Day, Mayor Monroe Nichols brought forward a plan for a Road to Repair that will help unify Tulsans and heal multi-generational wounds from the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, which stands as one of the worst race massacres in U.S. History.

One step in the Road to Repair is the creation of the Greenwood Trust, a private charitable trust, which will serve as an avenue to encourage economic growth and development in North Tulsa, the historic Greenwood District, and surrounding neighborhoods, with a focus to address disparities experienced by Tulsa Race Massacre survivors, descendants, Historic Greenwood District and North Tulsa residents and businesses.

"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," Mayor Nichols said. "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."

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 Greenwood Trust

As part of the Road to Repair, the Greenwood Trust will be created with the goal to secure $105 million in assets with most of the funding secured, or committed, by June 1, 2026, the 105th Anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre. Assets could include property transferred to the Trust, philanthropic funding, and public funding, if desired.

The trust would be comprised of an executive director, paid by private funding, as well as a board of trustees and a board of advisors to manage and operate the daily functions of the trust. Mayor Nichols said the first operational year of the Greenwood Trust will serve as a planning year to stand up some of the Trust’s initial programs and the hiring of initial staff to carry out fundraising efforts.

The following focus areas for the Trust include:

Nichols added, “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. 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.”

Road to Repair

Since taking office in December 2024, Mayor Nichols has been working on a framework for addressing longstanding disparities in North Tulsa and Greenwood that exist from the Massacre. Mayor Nichols also recognizes the tireless work of advocates and community members across Tulsa for years. Multiple organizations and a City commission have released recommendations to further justice for living survivors, descendants, and impacted community members.

As such, Nichols has committed to the following items regarding Tulsa’s Road to Repair with more work to come in the future:

For more information on Mayor Nichols' plan for a Road to Repair visit www.cityoftulsa.org/roadtorepair.


ABOUT THE 1921 TULSA RACE MASSACRE 
The Tulsa Race Massacre took place between May 31 and June 1, 1921, when mobs attacked Black residents and destroyed homes and businesses in Greenwood and North Tulsa. The event is considered one of the worst incidents of racial violence in American history. The attackers burned and destroyed more than 35 square blocks of the neighborhood—at the time, one of the wealthiest black communities in the United States, known as "Black Wall Street.” It is expected that more than 300 lost their lives, the majority of whom were never given a proper burial and whose whereabouts remain unknown to this day.