Tulsa’s first Black mayor announces $105M reparations plan for descendants of 1921 Race Massacre

“We will be making these investments to restore the Greenwood District and Tulsa overall to the community we should have been,” Monroe Nichols said.

Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols speaks at the Greenwood Cultural Center. Photo: KTUL ABC 8.

The first Black mayor of Tulsa announced a plan to launch a $105 million private charitable trust to address the longstanding impacts of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, providing descendants of the horrific event with housing assistance and scholarships.

Mayor Monroe Nichols said the Greenwood Trust will consist of three components: a $24 million fund aimed at securing housing and homeownership for descendants, a $60 million fund for cultural preservation that will consist of fixing up buildings, revitalization and clearing blight, and a $21 million “legacy” fund for small business grants, scholarships and land acquisition.

Nichols said the goal is to obtain $105 million in assets by June 1 of next year. Over the next 12 months, the trust will be focused on raising private capital, setting up the programs and appointing a Board of Trustees.

“We will be making these investments to restore the Greenwood District and Tulsa overall to the community we should have been,” Nichols told the audience at the Greenwood Cultural Center in the heart of Tulsa's Greenwood District on Sunday, which he has made a city-wide holiday in remembrance of the massacre. “We will find the courage to change the things we know we can change, and that work starts today.”

Although the reparations plan does not appear to provide direct cash payments to the last two living survivors of the attack or descendants, the attorney for the survivors applauded the mayor’s announcement.

“We’re excited to move into this next phase with Mayor Nichols, city leadership and Tulsa advocates,” said Damario Solomon-Simmons, founder of Justice for Greenwood Foundation.

“Many of the commitments outlined today echo the very proposals our team and community have spent years fighting to bring to light. This alignment is a testament to the power of truth-telling and organized advocacy – and we’re ready to work together to ensure these ideas become real outcomes for descendants.”

A lawsuit brought by Solomon-Simmons on behalf of the survivors, Lessie Benningfield Randle and Viola Ford Fletcher, was rejected by the Oklahoma Supreme Court last June.

The mayor also announced that he has made over 45,000 historical and other relevant records related to the attack available to the public.

“These are records that have not been shared publicly to this point,” said Nicholas. “It is aligned with our belief as a city that it’s time that our history is no longer shrouded in the shadows but fully understood and brought to light.”