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 105^th 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:

• Housing Fund, $24 million – This fund will benefit the residents of Greenwood and North Tulsa. It will assist in furthering the implementation of community recommendations centered on housing and homeownership benefits for Race Massacre survivors and their descendants. 
• Cultural Preservation Fund, $60 million – This fund will go toward improving buildings, reducing blight, and helping implement certain aspects of the Kirkpatrick Heights Greenwood Master Plan.
• Legacy Fund, $21 million – This fund will allow for the development of trust-owned land and acquisition of land for the benefit of Race Massacre survivors and descendants. A part of these monies would help in the creation of a scholarship funding structure for descendants to get Tulsa children on a stronger educational pathway. Another portion of the funds will go toward the support of small business and organizational grants to further economic development in North Tulsa and the Historic Greenwood District.

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:

• Complete - Creation of the Tulsa Race Massacre Observance Day on June 1, which serves as an annual day for Tulsans to reflect and engage with the community surrounding Tulsa’s history and celebrate Tulsa’s united future.
• Complete (new)- Public release of more than 45,000 historical records regarding the 1921 Race Massacre, including a notable message from Mayor Evans to Commissioners immediately following the Massacre and other documents, including Board of Commissioners minutes from 1908-1936, Greenwood land records from the last century, and records relating to specific search terms requested to the City in the past, including communications regarding Interstate 244, Urban Development and Urban Renewal. These documents can be found online at cityoftulsa.org/roadtorepair.
• Ongoing - Creation of the Greenwood Trust and the building of assets totaling $105 million by June 1, 2026.
• Ongoing - Reaffirmation of the City’s commitment to continue the 1921 Graves Investigation, along with the Community Engagement Genealogy Project.
  • Mayor Nichols proposed nearly $1 million in his proposed FY26 budget for excavation work at Oaklawn Cemetery following archeological expert recommendations. More details and next steps will be released in the coming weeks regarding that work. To learn more about the 1921 Graves Investigation, visit: cityoftulsa.org/1921Graves.
  • Continuation of the Community Engagement Genealogy Project, including genealogy workshops, cold case training and a new exhibit at the Greenwood Cultural Center as part of the Department of Justice Emmitt Till Grant. More information can be found online at cityoftulsa.org/genealogyproject.

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.