Tulsa’s first Black mayor is pushing a $100 million reparations trust to revive North Tulsa and redress the enduring legacy of the 1921 Race Massacre.
At a Glance
- Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols IV proposes a $100 million private trust for reparations
- The trust emphasizes education and housing over direct cash payments
- The initiative acknowledges historical neglect like redlining and underinvestment
- Proposal awaits City Council approval for asset transfers
New Era for Reparations
Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols IV has unveiled a sweeping $100 million reparations proposal aimed at restoring North Tulsa and supporting descendants of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. Breaking from traditional direct-payment models, the initiative prioritizes education, housing, and community development, focusing on systemic redress over symbolic gestures.
The reparations trust, privately held but publicly overseen, sets aside $60 million for infrastructure and housing redevelopment in historically neglected Black neighborhoods. Nichols emphasized that this approach is a response not only to the massacre but to “104 years of economic sabotage” that followed through redlining, highway construction, and governmental neglect.
Watch a report: Tulsa Mayor Proposes $100M Reparations Trust.
Challenging Historical Injustices
Nichols’ proposal arrives just months after the Oklahoma Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit seeking direct compensation for survivors. His plan, which aims to raise a total of $105 million by 2026, is currently awaiting approval from Tulsa’s City Council for the transfer of public assets to the trust.
“For 104 years, the Tulsa Race Massacre has been a stain on our city’s history,” Nichols said. “The massacre was hidden from history books, only to be followed by the intentional acts of redlining, a highway built to choke off economic vitality, and the perpetual underinvestment of local, state, and federal governments.”
Despite national political pushback against diversity and equity initiatives, Nichols insists that this is about civic repair, not ideology. His leadership has made Tulsa one of the few U.S. cities attempting a reparative justice program rooted in structural change.
Economic Revitalization and Future Prospects
The Greenwood District, once called “Black Wall Street,” was a thriving Black economic hub before being destroyed by white mobs in 1921. That prosperity, Nichols argues, wasn’t just lost to Black residents—it was stolen from Tulsa’s future. “It actually robbed Tulsa of an economic future that would have rivaled anywhere else in the world,” he said.
While direct cash payments aren’t part of the proposal, local advocates like Damario Solomon-Simmons continue to campaign for a compensation fund for survivors. Nichols, however, sees infrastructure and opportunity as the more sustainable path forward.
The plan includes educational scholarships, small business support, and workforce development. June 1 is now marked as Tulsa Race Massacre Observance Day, an annual reminder of the lives lost and the progress yet to be made.
As Tulsa charts this bold new course, its success—or failure—may set the tone for how American cities reckon with the legacy of racial violence. The trust may not deliver checks, but it aims to deliver something rarer: justice with a blueprint.
