100 Years: Reflecting on the Tulsa Race Massacre

May 31-June 1, 2021 will mark the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre. The Tulsa Massacre represents one of the deadliest instances of coordinated and state-sanctioned white racial terror perpetrated on a thriving Black community in the Greenwood neighborhood of Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Tulsa Massacre had a national and intergenerational impact well beyond the borders of Tulsa. In this event we will hear from Reverend Dr. Eric Gill, a member of the Tulsa community who is part of Greenwood Rising, a bold initiative seeking to engage the power of restorative memory work to honor the legacy of “Black Wall Street” before and after the Tulsa Massacre, as well as from UVA Darden faculty member Greg Fairchild who is a Tulsa Massacre survivor descendant. Through personal narrative and an engaging conversation moderated by Dr. Cleve Tinsley, Assistant Professor of History, Religion, and Africana Studies at Virginia Union University, this event will provide an opportunity to learn more about the Tulsa Race Massacre, its intergenerational impacts, the ongoing restorative memory work happening in Tulsa, and an exploration of how facing the hard history of the Tulsa Massacre provides lessons and inspiration for the work that must continue in earnest if we are to imagine and create new possibilities for racial and social justice. This event is co-sponsored by the UVA Division for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and the VUU Center for the Study of HBCUs with additional support provided by the UVA Black Faculty and Staff Employee Resource Group.