The Democratic mayor of Tulsa, Oklahoma, released a plan seeking to compensate descendants of residents affected by racial violence over a century ago.
On Sunday, Mayor Monroe Nichols announced Road to Repair, which promises to pour $105 million into the Greenwood District and northern Tulsa. The historically black and then-thriving area once described as “Black Wall Street” was rocked decades ago by the 1921 Tulsa race riots.
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The creation of the Greenwood Trust represents a “focus to address disparities experienced by Tulsa Race Massacre survivors, descendants, Historic Greenwood District and North Tulsa residents and businesses,” the mayor’s office wrote in a press release.
“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,” Nichols said in a statement. “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.”
Nichols has a goal of securing $105 million in assets by June 1, 2026. The bulk of the trust fund, $60 million, is set to be designated for a new Cultural Preservation Fund seeking to improve buildings, “reduce blight,” and revitalize the city’s northern side.
Another $24 million will be directed at housing assistance and increasing homeownership rates for the descendants of residents affected by the riots. The third component of the trust involves a $21 million educational Legacy Fund, which would help create a scholarship funding structure for descendants, as well as grants and no-interest loans for small businesses.
While the private charitable trust bears the hallmarks of reparations, it does not include direct cash payments to residents. In comments over the weekend, Nichols said he chose not to characterize the plan as “reparations” due to the negative connotation surrounding the term. He said the word is politically charged.
Nichols was voted in as Tulsa’s first black mayor last November. After his victory, he issued an executive order making June 1 a citywide day of remembrance observing the 1921 riots.
He announced the reparations-style plans on Sunday during the city’s first “Race Massacre Observance Day,” which marked 104 years since the massacre.
“This private, charitable Trust will raise and facilitate the investment of $105 million in private funds along our Road to Repair for restoration and righteousness,” the Tulsa mayor said. “This is about reconciliation. It is about repair. It’s about renewal, and it’s about righteousness. Make no mistake, this is not a question about your politics. This is a question of your faith and about finding our way back to each other.”
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The idea of reparations received more attention in 2020, when, sparked by the death of George Floyd, the Black Lives Matter movement said that black people remained burdened by systemically racist structures created by white people.
The policy has since fallen out of favor with some Democrats, including Gov. Wes Moore (D-MD), who announced plans earlier this month to veto a measure to create a commission to study slavery reparations in his state.